Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May 8;11(5):563.
doi: 10.3390/children11050563.

Prevalence of Obesity and Dental Caries in High School Adolescents during the First Decade of Saudi Vision 2030: A Cross-Sectional Study

Deema J Farsi  1 , Nada J Farsi  2 , Heba M Elkhodary  1   3 , Logain K Alattas  4 , Ali B Alshaikh  5 , Najat M Farsi  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of Obesity and Dental Caries in High School Adolescents during the First Decade of Saudi Vision 2030: A Cross-Sectional Study

Deema J Farsi et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Saudi Vision 2030 was launched in 2016. Obesity and dental caries are both highly prevalent in Saudi adolescents and have been targeted by the Vision's health initiatives. The aim is to assess their prevalence in adolescents during the first decade since the launch of the Vision. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia using a stratified sample of 571 high school students, with an average age of 16.7 (0.6). Their height and weight were measured, and their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The decayed, missed, and filled scores (DMFTs) were recorded after an oral examination. Non-parametric tests were used to assess the associations of DMFT with BMI, sex, and school type; and its predictors were assessed. One-third of males were overweight/obese compared with 22% of females. Males exhibited higher DMFTs than females. DMFTs were higher among public school students than among their private school counterparts. No significant association was observed between DMFT and BMI. Sex and school type were significant predictors of DMFT. The prevalence of obesity has slowly decreased in adolescents, but the prevalence of dental caries has not. There was no significant relationship between these conditions. Saudi Vision 2030's current preventive/educational initiatives may be more effective in combating obesity than dental caries.

Keywords: BMI; Saudi Vision 2030; adolescent; child; dental caries; obesity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The study was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Peres M.A., Macpherson L.M., Weyant R.J., Daly B., Venturelli R., Mathur M.R., Listl S., Celeste R.K., Guarnizo-Herreño C.C., Kearns C., et al. Oral diseases: A global public health challenge. Lancet. 2019;394:249–260. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31146-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Di Cesare M., Sorić M., Bovet P., Miranda J.J., Bhutta Z., Stevens G.A., Laxmaiah A., Kengne A.-P., Bentham J. The epidemiological burden of obesity in childhood: A worldwide epidemic requiring urgent action. BMC Med. 2019;17:212. doi: 10.1186/s12916-019-1449-8. [published Online First: 20191125] - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Oral Health. Secondary Oral Health. 2023. [(accessed on 5 March 2024)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/oral-health.
    1. World Health Organization Obesity and Overweight. Secondary Obesity and Overweight. 2021. [(accessed on 5 March 2024)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight#....
    1. Spiegel K.A., Palmer C.A. Childhood dental caries and childhood obesity. Different problems with overlapping causes. Am. J. Dent. 2012;25:59–64. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources