Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity and Their Associations With Screen Time and Other Behavioral Factors Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates.
5 affiliations
- 1Hospital-Based Medicine, Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries, GBR.
- 2General Practice, Thumbay University Hospital, Ajman, ARE.
- 3Internal Medicine, Prime Hospital, Dubai, ARE.
- 4Anesthesia, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, ARE.
- 5Community Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, ARE.
Abstract
Background Overweight and obesity among adolescents are major public health concerns. Sociodemographic, familial, dietary, and lifestyle factors, including screen time and physical activity, may be associated with excess body weight. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), limited evidence has examined recreational screen time alongside these factors in the same adolescent population. Objective This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 14-18 years in the UAE and examine whether greater recreational screen time was associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity. Secondary analyses assessed associations of sociodemographic, familial, dietary, physical activity, and sleep factors with overweight/obesity. Methodology A cross-sectional study included 688 adolescents aged 14-18 years recruited from participating high schools and a university teaching hospital in the UAE between December 2023 and April 2024. Height and weight were measured by the investigators, and BMI was classified using sex- and age-specific WHO 2007 growth reference cutoffs. Participants completed a structured questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, family history, dietary habits, physical activity, screen time, and sleep. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression. Results The prevalence of combined overweight/obesity was 39.8% (95% CI: 36.2-43.5%); 27.3% (95% CI: 24.0-30.7%) were overweight, and 12.5% (95% CI: 10.0-15.0%) were obese. Although weekend non-academic screen time was associated with overweight/obesity in the chi-square analysis (p = 0.017), no screen-time category was significant in bivariable logistic regression. In multivariable analysis, overweight/obesity was associated with male sex (AOR = 1.636, 95% CI: 1.155-2.318; p = 0.006), family history of obesity (AOR = 2.014, 95% CI: 1.197-3.389; p = 0.008), frequent eating when not hungry or bored (AOR = 1.884, 95% CI: 1.012-3.509; p = 0.046), and no participation in ≥60 minutes/day of out-of-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on any day of the week (AOR = 1.896, 95% CI: 1.285-2.799; p = 0.001). Conclusions Overweight and obesity were common among adolescents in this study. Recreational screen time was not associated with overweight/obesity in the regression analysis. Male gender, family history of obesity, frequent eating when not hungry or bored, and no participation in ≥60 minutes/day of out-of-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with overweight/obesity after adjustment. Given the cross-sectional design and recruitment from participating schools and a university teaching hospital, these findings represent associations rather than causal relationships and are not nationally representative of UAE adolescents.
Related
- Population-Level Associations of Diabetes Prevalence and Childhood Overweight with Kidney Cancer Mortality in Türkiye
- Associations between behavioral intervention dose and outcomes in children and adolescents with obesity: meta-regression of randomized clinical trials
- Excessive Internet Use among Finnish Adolescents - Prevalence in 2017 - 2023 and Associations with Well-being
- Mental health problems in a large representative sample of children and adolescents: Prevalence, associations with problematic substance use and psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.
- Perceived social support may mediate adiposity outcomes after nutrition and exercise intervention in adolescents with overweight
BibTeX
@article{fatima2026prevalence,
title = {{Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity and Their Associations With Screen Time and Other Behavioral Factors Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates.}},
author = {Sana Fatima and Lena Sayed Taha and Sarah Sayed Taha and Ibraheem Mohammed and Abdallah Jaber and Shatha AlSharbatti},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.117775},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43011934},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity and Their Associations With Screen Time and Other Behavioral Factors Among Adolescents in the United Arab Emirates.
AU - Sana Fatima
AU - Lena Sayed Taha
AU - Sarah Sayed Taha
AU - Ibraheem Mohammed
AU - Abdallah Jaber
AU - Shatha AlSharbatti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.117775
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43011934
AB - Background Overweight and obesity among adolescents are major public health concerns. Sociodemographic, familial, dietary, and lifestyle factors, including screen time and physical activity, may be associated with excess body weight. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), limited evidence has examined recreational screen time alongside these factors in the same adolescent population. Objective This study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents aged 14-18 years in the UAE and examine whether greater recreational screen time was associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity. Secondary analyses assessed associations of sociodemographic, familial, dietary, physical activity, and sleep factors with overweight/obesity. Methodology A cross-sectional study included 688 adolescents aged 14-18 years recruited from participating high schools and a university teaching hospital in the UAE between December 2023 and April 2024. Height and weight were measured by the investigators, and BMI was classified using sex- and age-specific WHO 2007 growth reference cutoffs. Participants completed a structured questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, family history, dietary habits, physical activity, screen time, and sleep. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression. Results The prevalence of combined overweight/obesity was 39.8% (95% CI: 36.2-43.5%); 27.3% (95% CI: 24.0-30.7%) were overweight, and 12.5% (95% CI: 10.0-15.0%) were obese. Although weekend non-academic screen time was associated with overweight/obesity in the chi-square analysis (p = 0.017), no screen-time category was significant in bivariable logistic regression. In multivariable analysis, overweight/obesity was associated with male sex (AOR = 1.636, 95% CI: 1.155-2.318; p = 0.006), family history of obesity (AOR = 2.014, 95% CI: 1.197-3.389; p = 0.008), frequent eating when not hungry or bored (AOR = 1.884, 95% CI: 1.012-3.509; p = 0.046), and no participation in ≥60 minutes/day of out-of-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on any day of the week (AOR = 1.896, 95% CI: 1.285-2.799; p = 0.001). Conclusions Overweight and obesity were common among adolescents in this study. Recreational screen time was not associated with overweight/obesity in the regression analysis. Male gender, family history of obesity, frequent eating when not hungry or bored, and no participation in ≥60 minutes/day of out-of-school moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with overweight/obesity after adjustment. Given the cross-sectional design and recruitment from participating schools and a university teaching hospital, these findings represent associations rather than causal relationships and are not nationally representative of UAE adolescents.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -