Table 2.
Factors associated with overweight (BMI >25–30 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) among Kuwaiti elementary male school children aged 6–10 years (n = 662)—Results of chi-squared analysis.
| Factor | Nonobese | Overweight | Obese | P-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | (%) | n | (%) | n | (%) | ||
| Age group (years) | < .05 | ||||||
| 6 | 74 | (17.7) | 14 | (10.4) | 14 | (12.6) | |
| 7 | 97 | (23.3) | 22 | (16.4) | 19 | (17.1) | |
| 8 | 80 | (19.2) | 27 | (20.1) | 31 | (27.9) | |
| 9 | 91 | (21.8) | 29 | (21.6) | 30 | (27.0) | |
| 10 | 75 | (18.0) | 42 | (31.3) | 17 | (15.3) | |
|
| |||||||
| Dental Status | < .01 | ||||||
| Healthy | 145 | (34.8) | 48 | (35.8) | 58 | (52.3) | |
| Treated | 198 | (47.5) | 61 | (45.5) | 32 | (28.8) | |
| Not healthy | 74 | (17.7) | 25 | (18.7) | 21 | (18.9) | |
|
| |||||||
| Chronic disease | < .05 | ||||||
| No | 368 | (88.2) | 108 | (80.6) | 90 | (81.1) | |
| Yes | 49 | (11.8) | 26 | (19.4) | 21 | (18.9) | |
|
| |||||||
| No. obese brothers | < .001 | ||||||
| None | 347 | (83.2) | 105 | (78.4) | 9 | (2.2) | |
| Low (1) | 35 | (8.4) | 11 | (8.2) | 23 | (20.7) | |
| Medium (2) | 16 | (3.8) | 6 | (4.5) | 7 | (6.3) | |
| High (>3) | 9 | (2.2) | 5 | (3.7) | 21 | (3.2) | |
|
| |||||||
| Father's occupation | < .01 | ||||||
| Working | 386 | (92.6) | 119 | (88.8) | 92 | (82.9) | |
| Not-working | 31 | (7.4) | 15 | (11.2) | 19 | (17.1) | |
|
| |||||||
| No. living at home | < .01 | ||||||
| Low (1-6) | 245 | (58.8) | 65 | (48.5) | 56 | (50.5) | |
| Medium (7-10) | 153 | (36.7) | 57 | (42.5) | 43 | (38.7) | |
| High (>11) | 19 | (4.6) | 12 | (9.0) | 12 | (10.8) | |
|
| |||||||
| Highest degree | < .05 | ||||||
| Low | 44 | (10.6) | 9 | (6.7) | 11 | (9.9) | |
| Medium | 278 | (66.7) | 87 | (64.9) | 60 | (54.1) | |
| High | 95 | (22.8) | 38 | (28.4) | 40 | (36.0) | |
|
| |||||||
| Dieting | < .05 | ||||||
| Yes | 16 | (3.8) | 11 | (8.2) | 11 | (9.9) | |
| No | 380 | (91.1) | 119 | (88.8) | 92 | (82.9) | |
| I was | 21 | (5.0) | 4 | (3.0) | 8 | (7.2) | |
|
| |||||||
| School level | < .01 | ||||||
| 1 | 87 | (20.9) | 15 | (11.2) | 18 | (16.2) | |
| 2 | 101 | (24.2) | 25 | (18.7) | 18 | (16.2) | |
| 3 | 85 | (20.4) | 25 | (18.7) | 29 | (26.1) | |
| 4 | 89 | (21.3) | 28 | (20.9) | 28 | (25.2) | |
| 5 | 55 | (13.2) | 41 | (30.6) | 18 | (16.2) | |
|
| |||||||
| No. times dieted | < .001(†) | ||||||
| None | 383 | (91.8) | 115 | 985.8) | 85 | (76.5) | |
| Low (1) | 16 | (3.8) | 4 | (3.0) | 7 | (6.3) | |
| Medium (2-3) | 12 | (2.9) | 11 | (8.2) | 13 | (11.7) | |
| High (>4) | 6 | (1.4) | 4 | (3.0) | 6 | (5.4) | |
|
| |||||||
| Needing special diet program | < .001 | ||||||
| Yes | 91 | (21.8) | 34 | (25.4) | 50 | (45.0) | |
| No | 261 | (62.6) | 81 | (60.4) | 48 | (43.2) | |
| I don't know | 65 | (15.6) | 19 | (14.2) | 13 | (11.7) | |
*P < .05, **P < .01, ***P < .001, (†) chi-square value may not be reliable as the number of cases are low in certain cells.