Study highlights teenage health issues
Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — A recent study by medical experts highlights the various health problems among teenagers associated with poor and unhealthy lifestyle choices.
About 95 percent of teenagers interviewed for the study suffer from obesity, many of them do not take any safety precautions, while 16 percent of them smoke regularly.
The study is the first of its kind in the Arab world, and was conducted by a medical team led by the head of adolescent health research at King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Dr. Fadia Bint Saleh Al-Buhairan.
Rates of bullying and aggressive behavior are increasing among teenagers, with around 20 percent of respondents saying they had suffered physical violence at school and 25 percent had encountered bullying.
The study also found that most consume large amounts of energy and soft drinks and eat few fruit and vegetables.
About 30 percent of those studied suffer from a Vitamin D deficiency and 24 percent faced difficulty in receiving adequate healthcare.
More than 12,000 intermediate and secondary school students in different parts of the Kingdom, including girls, were interviewed for the study.
Al-Buhairan said the common perception is that young people aged between 10 and 19 are quite healthy, despite previous studies showing that 70 percent of deaths among teenagers occurred due to poor nutrition and unhealthy lifestyles.
Al-Buhairan said the study’s results highlighted the need to establish public health programs to improve the health of teenagers who account for one third of the country’s population.Saudi Arabia established the first teenage health center at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in 2008.
“It’s first of its kind in the Arab world and takes care of teenager’s physical, mental and social health,” Al-Buhairan said. “This kind of healthcare demands latest research information.”
