title: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in eight Arab countries: comparison between two international standards (ARABEAT-2).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to highlight the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in eight Arab countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in eight Arab countries: Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Tunisia. The total sample included was 6,447 adolescents aged 15-18 years (3,111 males, 3,336 females). The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and World Health Organization (WHO) reference standards were used to determine obesity levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The WHO standard provided lower prevalence of overweight but higher prevalence of obesity than the IOTF standard. According to the IOTF standard, overweight among males was highest in Kuwaiti adolescents (24.8%), followed by Saudi Arabian (23.2%). Among females, the highest prevalence was reported in Kuwaiti adolescents (22.1%), followed by Jordanian (20.0%). Regarding obesity, Kuwaiti adolescents showed the highest prevalence of obesity for both males (28.6%) and females (21.1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings revealed no progress in reducing prevalence of obesity.
authors.affiliation: Arab Center for Nutrition. Bahrain. amusaiger@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Musaiger
authors.forename: Mariam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Mannai
authors.forename: Ahmad R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Al-Haifi
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nabag
authors.forename: Jalila
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Elati
authors.forename: Nada
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abahussain
authors.forename: Reema
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tayyem
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jalambo
authors.forename: Mofida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benhamad
authors.forename: Berivan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Al-Mufty
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012015:Reference Standards; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Arab countries.  Adolescents.  Overweight. Obesity.