title: Saudi Arabian dental students' knowledge and beliefs regarding obesity in children and adults.
abstract: The objectives of this study were to determine knowledge/beliefs of a group of Saudi Arabian dental students regarding overweight/obesity (OW/OB). Dental students (fourth-year, fifth-year, and interns) at King Saud University College of Dentistry completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding OW/OB in children and adults. Frequency distribution and chi-square analyses were done. The total respondents were 260 (response rate=87 percent), most of whom were male (59 percent). Half of the respondents reported their knowledge of OW/OB in adults/children to be average, with knowledge of pediatric OW/OB rated lower (37 percent reported it as fair/poor) than adult OW/OB (17 percent reported it as fair/poor). Only a third (34 percent) of the respondents selected body mass index (BMI) as the best method to identify OW/OB. More than half of the respondents correctly believed that OW/OB was a problem in many adults/children in Saudi Arabia. A slightly higher proportion endorsed a role for dentists in the identification/prevention of OW/OB in children (76 percent) as compared to adults (69 percent). Female respondents had better knowledge than males about OW/OB and were more likely to correctly select BMI as the best method for identifying OW/OB. These findings may provide support for the expansion of education in these areas in the dental curriculum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 60169, Riyadh 11545, Saudi Arabia. ahwyne@ksu.edu.sa
authors.forename: Amjad H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Wyne
authors.forename: Nouf
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Hammad
authors.forename: S M Hashim
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nainar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003479:Curriculum; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology; D004497:Education, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires