Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Female Adolescents in Jordan: A comparison between Two International Reference Standards

To find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity among female adolescents in Jordan. A cross-sectional survey on females aged 15-18 in Amman, Jordan, was carried out using a multistage stratified random sampling method. The total sample size was 475 girls. Weight and height were measured and bod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pakistan journal of medical sciences 2013-04, Vol.29 (2), p.678-679
Main Authors: O Musaiger, Abdulrahman, Al-Mannai, Mariam, Tayyem, Reema
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Obesity in adolescence
Prevalence studies (Epidemiology)
Short Communication
Teenage girls
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Summary:To find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity among female adolescents in Jordan. A cross-sectional survey on females aged 15-18 in Amman, Jordan, was carried out using a multistage stratified random sampling method. The total sample size was 475 girls. Weight and height were measured and body mass index for age was used to determine overweight and obesity using the IOTF and WHO international standards. The prevalence of overweight and obesity decreased with age. The highest prevalence of overweight and obesity was reported at age 15 (24.4% and 8.9%, respectively). The WHO standard showed a higher prevalence of obesity than the IOTF standard in all age groups. Overweight and obesity are serious public health problems among adolescents in Jordan, using both international standards. A program to combat obesity among schoolchildren, therefore, should be given a high priority in school health policy in Jordan.
ISSN:1682-024X
1681-715X
DOI:10.12669/pjms.292.3222