The Relationships of Watching Television, Computer Use, Physical Activity, and Food Preferences to Body Mass Index: Gender and Nativity Differences among Adolescents in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Adolescents and ethnic subgroups have been identified at high risks of overweight and its associated complications. Although some studies have investigated overweight, obesity, nutritional status, physical activity, and associated factors among Saudi students, no studies have examined these characteristics among non-Saudi students or compared non-Saudi to Saudi adolescent students. The objective of this study was to compare differences between Saudi and non-Saudi adolescent students regarding time spent watching television, using computers, engaging in physical activity, and their food preferences. The relationships between these lifestyle behaviors and body mass index by Saudi nativity and gender were tested. Methods: Students aged 12 to 18 years (n = 214) from various schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions about demographic and anthropometric characteristics, daily after-school routine, physical activity, watching television, using computers, and food preferences. Non-parametric (Mann–Whitney U) tests assessed the statistical differences between Saudi and non-Saudi respondents, and males and females were separately tested. Results: Saudi boys who reported physical activity two to five times per week, the most television time, the most computer time, and the highest frequency of eating fast food and drinking soft drinks had a significantly higher mean body mass index than the non-Saudi boys in their categories. However, there were no significant differences found between the Saudi and non-Saudi girls. Conclusions: High levels of sedentary and low levels of physical activities as well as high consumption of high-fat fast foods and high-sugar drinks threaten the health of Saudi adolescents. Cultural differences in lifestyle between Saudi and non-Saudi families should be considered when developing programs to improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding diet quality and physical activity. The objective of this study is more important in the current situation where increased time spent on computers and mobile phones due to online teaching in schools or working from home, decreased physical activity due to precautionary lockdowns, and unchecked eating patterns while spending more time in sedentary activities in homes has become our COVID-19 pandemic lifestyle in all the age groups. A similar study should be replicated on a large scale to study the effect of this lifestyle on our lives in all the age groups.