Abstract / Summary
BackgroundOverweight and obesity among adolescents are major public health concerns.Sociodemographic, familial, dietary, and lifestyle factors, including screen time and physical activity, may be associated with excess body weight.In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), limited evidence has examined recreational screen time alongside these factors in the same adolescent population. ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 14-18 years in the UAE and examine whether greater recreational screen time was associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity.Secondary analyses assessed associations of sociodemographic, familial, dietary, physical activity, and sleep factors with overweight/obesity. MethodologyA cross-sectional study included 688 adolescents aged 14-18 years recruited from participating high schools and a university teaching hospital in the UAE between December 2023 and April 2024.Height and weight were measured by the investigators, and BMI was classified using sex-and age-specific WHO 2007 growth reference cutoffs.Participants completed a structured questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, family history, dietary habits, physical activity, screen time, and sleep.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression. ResultsThe prevalence of combined overweight/obesity was 39.8% (95% CI: 36.2-43.5%);27.3% (95% CI: 24.0-30.7%)were overweight, and 12.5% (95% CI: 10.0-15.0%)were obese.Although weekend non-academic screen time was associated with overweight/obesity in the chi-square analysis (p = 0.017), no screen-time category was significant in bivariable logistic regression.In multivariable analysis, overweight/obesity was associated with male sex (AOR = 1.636, 95% CI: 1.155-2.318;p = 0.006), family history of obesity (AOR = 2.014, 95% CI: 1.197-3.389;p = 0.008), frequent eating when not hungry or bored (AOR = 1.884, 95% CI: 1.012-3.509;p = 0.046), and no participation in ≥60 minutes/day of out-of-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on any day of the week (AOR = 1.896, 95% CI: 1.285-2.799;p = 0.001). ConclusionsOverweight and obesity were common among adolescents in this study.Recreational screen time was not associated with overweight/obesity in the regression analysis.Male gender, family history of obesity, frequent eating when not hungry or bored, and no participation in ≥60 minutes/day of out-of-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with overweight/obesity after adjustment.Given the cross-sectional design and recruitment from participating schools and a university teaching hospital, these findings represent associations rather than causal relationships and are not nationally representative of UAE adolescents.