TY - JOUR TI - Predisposing factors for obesity among school-age children and adolescents in Madinah A1 - El-Halaby, Hanan A A2 - Alsaadi, Najwa Hajraf A3 - Alrehaili, Tahani Abdullah A4 - Fatani, Roba Hassaballah A5 - Alahmadi, Rafif Yaser A6 - Aljohani, Amal Yousef JF - International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries JO - IJMDC SN - 1658-7820 VL - 5 IS - 9 SP - 1599 EP - 1625 Y1 - 2021 AB - Background: Recent research has emphasized the hazards of obesity and overweight by showing the strong connection between high body mass index and co-morbidities. The present study was aimed at assessing the risk factors that may cause an increased incidence of childhood obesity among school-age children and adolescents and discover whether there is a relation between children's lifestyle and the risk of obesity among Madinah's children.Methodology: A case-control study was carried out in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, from November 2019 to April 2021. A total of 593 children had been recruited (326 males, 267 females) using a media-based questionnaire targeting school-age children and adolescents (5-18 years) in Madinah city. Out of the total, 241 cases were obese, 111 were overweight, and 241 were controls.Results: Overweight/ obesity was 8-fold higher in children whose mother's educational level was a middle school [odds ratio (OR): 8.187, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.394-27.993]. Children who ate a large amount of food compared to their friends were associated with a 5-fold increased risk of overweight/obesity (OR: 5.679, 95% CI: 2.656-12.144). More prolonged screen-time exposure to television or electronic devices resulted in a 3-fold increased risk of overweight/obesity for children who spent 5-7 hours per day (OR: 2.849, 95% CI: 1.032-7.862)Conclusion: Our study found a relationship between being overweight and obese and several risk factors, including mother's education level, amount of food consumption, and screen time. PB - https://www.ijmdc.com DO - 10.24911/IJMDC.51-1625845471 UR - https://www.ijmdc.com/?mno=94929 ER -