Prevalence and correlates of overweight status among Saudi school children.

Background And Objectives: There are limited data on changes in the prevalence of overweight among the Saudi school children and on associated risk factors. We compared recent prevalence data (2012) with early data (1994-98) and assessed risk factors.

Design And Setting: Data from a cross-sectional study of children in primary schools in two cities in Al-Qassim province.

Concordance of obesity classification between body mass index and percent body fat among school children in Saudi Arabia.

Background: In Saudi Arabia, where childhood obesity is a major public health issue, it is important to identify the best tool for obesity classification. Hence, we compared two field methods for their usefulness in epidemiological studies.

Methods: The sample consisted of 874 primary school (grade I-IV) children, aged 6-10 years, and was obtained through a multi-stage random sampling procedure.