11
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      The association between body mass index and duration spent on electronic devices in children and adolescents in Western Saudi Arabia

      letter
      Saudi Medical Journal
      Saudi Medical Journal

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          To the Editor I have 3 comments on the interesting study by Al-Agha et al1 on the association between body mass index (BMI) and duration spent on electronic devices in children and adolescents in Western Saudi Arabia. First, Al-Agha et al1 did well in evaluating the relationship between BMI and the duration spent on electronic devices as well as determining the relationship between BMI, reduced physical activity, and eating during TV viewing. Apart from many limitations addressed in the study, I presume that there is another important methodological limitation that might cast suspicions on the accuracy of the study results. In the methodology, Al-Agha et al1 mentioned that the BMI (weight in kg divided by height in square meters) was calculated and BMI standard deviation was set based on Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth standards.1 It is worth mentioning that there are many growth standards to be used in the clinical setting to evaluate growth parameters, namely the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC growth standards. Comparing the use of the various growth standards to the use of country-specific growth references suggested that the latter might describe the growth of children more faithfully.2 Body mass index reference percentiles for normal Saudi children and adolescents have been constructed to be used by clinicians and researchers.3 I wonder why Al-Agha et al1 did not consider the Saudi specific BMI reference percentiles in the methodology rather than CDC growth standards. Thus, employing these national BMI standards might alter the results of Al-Agha et al’s study.1 Second, Al-Agha et al1 stated that an increased BMI was found among children who spent ≥2 hours per day on electronic devices. However, there was no association between the duration spent (specifically) watching TV and BMI.1 I believe that this is an interesting point as it contributes to the growing body of evidence indicating a questionable correlation between the exact duration of watching TV and the risk of increasing BMI. Having a TV in the child bedroom has been found to predict the obesity risk (p=0.01); however, watching TV/computer for more than 2 hours a day did not (p=0.54). Therefore, asking whether a child has a TV in the bedroom might be more important than asking on the duration of screen exposure to predict the risk for obesity.4 Therefore, children watching <1 to <2 hours of TV daily have been noticed to be more likely to become overweight and obese over time.5 Third, I do agree with Al-Agha et al’s recommendation on restricting the use of various electronic devices for not more than 2 hours per day, specifically watching TV. 1 I presume that such restriction could be achieved through close parental supervision early in life as childhood TV viewing tends to track into adulthood.6 This would be fundamental to limit further uprising in the pediatric prevalence of obesity, and ultimately halting the grave consequences of obesity in later life. Moreover, it would be beneficial in minimizing the adverse cardiovascular, respiratory, mental, and psychiatric health and well-being (happiness) associated with prolonged TV watching.7 Reply from the Author Abdulmoein E. Al-Agha, F. Sarah Nizar, Anwar M. Nahhas Department of PediatricsKing Abdulaziz University Hospital Jeddah, Saudi Arabia We would like to thank Prof. Mahmood D. Al-Mendalawi for his message and for taking interest in our research. Firstly, he mentioned an important methodological limitation in our study. There are indeed many growth standards being used to evaluate growth parameters and we agree that we used the national growth references to better evaluate these parameters.2,3 Secondly, we were unable to include any information regarding the presence of TVs in children’s bedrooms as we did not have a sufficient amount of data that we could have used in our study. Finally, we agree that close parental supervision in early childhood regarding TV viewing can indeed have an impact on future viewing habits.6

          Related collections

          Most cited references5

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: found
          Is Open Access

          Body mass index in Saudi Arabian children and adolescents: a national reference and comparison with international standards

          BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Because there are no reference standards for body mass index (BMI) in Saudi children, we established BMI reference percentiles for normal Saudi Arabian children and adolescents and compared them with international standards. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data from a stratified multistage probability sample were collected from the 13 health regions in Saudi Arabia, as part of a nationwide health profile survey of Saudi Arabian children and adolescents conducted to establish normal physical growth references. Selected households were visited by a trained team. Weight and length/height were measured and recorded following the WHO recommended procedures using the same equipment, which were subjected to both calibration and intra/interobserver variations. RESULTS: Survey of 11 874 eligible households yielded 35 275 full-term and healthy children and adolescents who were subjected to anthropometric measurements. Four BMI curves were produced, from birth to 36 months and 2 to 19 years for girls and boys. The 3rd, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, 95th, and 97th percentiles were produced and compared with the WHO and CDC BMI charts. In the higher percentiles, the Saudi children differed from Western counterparts, indicating that Saudi children have equal or higher BMIs. CONCLUSION: The BMI curves reflect statistically representative BMI values for Saudi Arabian children and adolescents.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            The WHO growth standards: strengths and limitations.

            To describe the creation of the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards (WHO standards) released in 2006, to show their main features and to compare them with existing charts.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: found
              Is Open Access

              The association between body mass index and duration spent on electronic devices in children and adolescents in Western Saudi Arabia

              Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the duration spent on electronic devices, and to assess the factors that can cause obesity among children. Methods: A cross-sectional study including 541 participants. Data was collected from March to June 2015 via ambulatory pediatric clinics in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The BMI standard deviation was calculated based on Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) standards. Results: The mean age of the participants was 10.1 years. Children who spent ≥2 hours daily on electronic devices showed an increased BMI, and made up 68.4% of the sample. Conclusion: An increased BMI was more common among children who spent ≥2 hours daily on electronic devices. The relationship between BMI, reduced physical activity, and eating during television viewing was determined.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Saudi Med J
                Saudi Med J
                Saudi Medical Journal
                Saudi Medical Journal (Saudi Arabia )
                0379-5284
                August 2016
                : 37
                : 8
                : 913-914
                Affiliations
                [1] Department of Pediatrics Al-Kindy College of Medicine Baghdad University, Baghdad, Iraq
                Article
                SaudiMedJ-37-913
                10.15537/smj.2016.8.15412
                5018713
                27464873
                bf8ba564-8830-4b5e-9ffa-a4c30b69e1ea
                Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Categories
                Correspondence

                Comments

                Comment on this article