Obesity and lifestyle behaviours among in-school children in Oman.

Background: Many countries are experiencing an increasing prevalence of childhood obesity and this needs to be carefully addressed.

Aims: To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the sociodemographic factors and lifestyle risk behaviours associated with obesity among in-school children in Al Buraimi Governorate, Oman.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 714 male and female in-school children aged 6-17 years in 14 government schools in Al Buraimi Governorate, Oman, from April to July 2019. Data were collected on the sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle of the students using a self-administered questionnaire. The students' height, weight and waist circumference were also measured. The BMI-for-age growth charts cutoff reference standards of the WHO were used to determine weight category. Central obesity was assessed by calculating the waist-to-height ratio, and the waist-toheight ratio cutoff of 0.50 was used to identify central obesity in both boys and girls. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 21, involving both descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: A total of 714 students were included. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 12.3% and 16.3% respectively, and 21.4% of the students had central obesity. Lifestyle risk behaviours were significantly associated with student's age, sex and mother's education (P < 0.05). Predictors of obesity were: unhealthy eating habits (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 5.20; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.50-10.70), sedentary screen-based activities (AOR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.05-2.26), inadequate night-time sleep duration (AOR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.34-1.00), sibling obesity (AOR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.55-3.25), paternal obesity (AOR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.10-2.50) and maternal obesity (AOR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.10-2.45).

Conclusion: There is a need for effective health promotion programmes targeting in-school children in Oman, as well as regular monitoring of lifestyle behaviours associated with overweight and obesity among the younger populations. Larger studies are needed to understand the predictors of overweight and obesity among in-school children in Oman and to design relevant school-based interventions to prevent obesity among young Omanis.