Regional differences in obesity risk, sedentary behavior, and dietary patterns among university students in Saudi Arabia: a multi-region cross-sectional study
- 1Department of Exercise Physiology, College of Sport Sciences and Physical Activity, King Saud University , ,
- 2College of Education, Department of Physical Education, King Faisal University , ,
Abstract
Background: Overweight and obesity are rising among Saudi university students. Guided by Popkin’s nutrition transition theory, this study examined regional variation in overweight/obesity, sedentary behavior, and nutrition-transition dietary patterns.
Methods: This cross-sectional study (March–May 2023) recruited 564 students from four Saudi administrative regions using a multistage sampling approach. Three colleges per university were selected across three academic domains; within each college, one male and one female class per academic level were invited; all eligible students completed the questionnaire. Students with prior type 2 diabetes were excluded. BMI was calculated from self-reported weight and height (overweight/obesity: ≥ 25.0 kg/m ² ). Dietary patterns were identified using principal-component analysis of 17 food groups from a validated 66-item food frequency questionnaire. Physical activity was assessed via IPAQ-SF (sufficient: ≥ 150 min/week); composite sedentary behavior exposure was classified as low (< 8 h/day), moderate (8–12 h/day), or high (> 12 h/day). Logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, income, college type, region, and smoking.
Results: Overweight/obesity prevalence was 17.9% ( n = 100/558); as BMI relied on self-reported anthropometrics, this is a conservative lower bound. A marked regional gradient was observed: 27.8% of Riyadh students were overweight/obese versus 8.8% in Makkah ( χ ² = 25.48, p < 0.001). Region showed the strongest association with overweight/obesity after adjustment: Riyadh (aOR = 4.62, 95% CI 2.23–9.59, p < 0.001) and male sex (aOR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.04–3.71, p = 0.037) were the only significant predictors. Composite sedentary behavior exposure was high: 82.3% were moderately or highly sedentary (≥ 8 h/day), dominated by mobile phone use (3.75 h/day) and academic study (3.35 h/day). Sedentary behavior was higher in overweight/obese students (15.5 vs. 13.9 h/day; p = 0.043). Nutrition-transition dietary patterns were not associated with overweight/obesity (aOR = 0.93, p = 0.543).
Conclusion: Region showed the strongest association with overweight/obesity, with Riyadh students at four-fold higher risk than Makkah students, suggesting that regional structural and environmental factors may contribute to obesity risk in this population. Prolonged mobile phone use and screen-based sedentarism were prevalent and associated with overweight/obesity. Campus interventions targeting sedentary screen behavior and regional food environments, particularly in Riyadh, are warranted; future studies should employ direct anthropometry to obtain unbiased prevalence estimates.
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BibTeX
@article{alkhraiji2026regional,
title = {{Regional differences in obesity risk, sedentary behavior, and dietary patterns among university students in Saudi Arabia: a multi-region cross-sectional study}},
author = {Mohummed H. Alkhraiji and Abdulrahman I. Alaqil},
journal = {Frontiers in public health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1980253},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13668806},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Regional differences in obesity risk, sedentary behavior, and dietary patterns among university students in Saudi Arabia: a multi-region cross-sectional study
AU - Mohummed H. Alkhraiji
AU - Abdulrahman I. Alaqil
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Frontiers in public health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1980253
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13668806
AB - Background: Overweight and obesity are rising among Saudi university students. Guided by Popkin’s nutrition transition theory, this study examined regional variation in overweight/obesity, sedentary behavior, and nutrition-transition dietary patterns. Methods: This cross-sectional study (March–May 2023) recruited 564 students from four Saudi administrative regions using a multistage sampling approach. Three colleges per university were selected across three academic domains; within each college, one male and one female class per academic level were invited; all eligible students completed the questionnaire. Students with prior type 2 diabetes were excluded. BMI was calculated from self-reported weight and height (overweight/obesity: ≥ 25.0 kg/m ² ). Dietary patterns were identified using principal-component analysis of 17 food groups from a validated 66-item food frequency questionnaire. Physical activity was assessed via IPAQ-SF (sufficient: ≥ 150 min/week); composite sedentary behavior exposure was classified as low (< 8 h/day), moderate (8–12 h/day), or high (> 12 h/day). Logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, income, college type, region, and smoking. Results: Overweight/obesity prevalence was 17.9% ( n = 100/558); as BMI relied on self-reported anthropometrics, this is a conservative lower bound. A marked regional gradient was observed: 27.8% of Riyadh students were overweight/obese versus 8.8% in Makkah ( χ ² = 25.48, p < 0.001). Region showed the strongest association with overweight/obesity after adjustment: Riyadh (aOR = 4.62, 95% CI 2.23–9.59, p < 0.001) and male sex (aOR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.04–3.71, p = 0.037) were the only significant predictors. Composite sedentary behavior exposure was high: 82.3% were moderately or highly sedentary (≥ 8 h/day), dominated by mobile phone use (3.75 h/day) and academic study (3.35 h/day). Sedentary behavior was higher in overweight/obese students (15.5 vs. 13.9 h/day; p = 0.043). Nutrition-transition dietary patterns were not associated with overweight/obesity (aOR = 0.93, p = 0.543). Conclusion: Region showed the strongest association with overweight/obesity, with Riyadh students at four-fold higher risk than Makkah students, suggesting that regional structural and environmental factors may contribute to obesity risk in this population. Prolonged mobile phone use and screen-based sedentarism were prevalent and associated with overweight/obesity. Campus interventions targeting sedentary screen behavior and regional food environments, particularly in Riyadh, are warranted; future studies should employ direct anthropometry to obtain unbiased prevalence estimates.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -