Key words: overweight, obesity, university student, Saudi Arabia.

Although interest in, and funding to treat, obesity have increased, its prevalence has not yet decreased.(1) Overweight and obesity are global health problems. In Canada, recent reports have indicated that 57% of adult men and 35% of adult women are overweight or obese.(2,3) The prevalence of overweight in children and adolescents and obesity in adults in the United States has increased over several decades.(4-6) Obesity and overweight are well known risk factors for coronary artery disease, and are expected to be increasing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A community based national epidemiological health survey conducted by examining 17,232 Saudi subjects in the age group of 30-70 years of selected households over a 5 year period between 1995 and 2000, showed that obesity and overweight are increasing in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia with an overall obesity prevalence of 35.5%.(7) A cross sectional national epidemiological household survey was conducted in different areas of Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1998, and the study group included 12,701 children (boys 6281; girls 6420), with ages ranging from 1-18 years. This study showed that the overall prevalence of overweight was 10.7% and 12.7% in the boys and girls, respectively, and obesity was 6% and 6.74% in the two groups, respectively.(8)

Obesity represents a major threat to health and quality of life in Arabian populations.(9-12) Several reasons have been suggested to explain the rising prevalence of obesity in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These include the major economical development during the past 30 years, which had resulted in profound changes in eating and physical activity. The combination of westernized and high fat diets and reduced physical activity suggests that sedentary lifestyles are the most important factor.(13) The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among King Saud university students, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Design: Cross sectional survey
Setting: The study was conducted in a male university primary health care clinic, at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the period from 23 April to 7 June 2006.
Subjects: Male University students from different colleges who attend the university primary care clinic were included in the study. Weight and Height were recorded, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for each student, using the equation (weight in kg/ height in meter2).

WHO classification was used for defining overweight (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI = 30 kg/m2) categories. The statistical analysis was carried out using the statistical software for social science version 11.5.

There were 701 university students in the study, with mean age = 21.7 years. Table (1)
The prevalence estimate of overweight was 31%, and the prevalence estimate of obesity was 23.3% in the study group. Table (2)

Obesity is now a major public health problem across the world. Easy solutions are unlikely, given the complex interaction between the abundant availability of energy dense food, the ever-decreasing demand for energy expenditure in the modern world, and the impact of genetic make up. Treatment of people who are already obese is difficult; however, systematic reviews in recent years have shown that diet, exercise, and behavioural approaches, used in combination, are effective management strategies, at least in the short term.(14) Obesity has a negative impact on the self-esteem of children and adolescents, which may have significant implications for long-term happiness and success in life.(15) Efforts to reduce the socioeconomic and psychosocial burden of obesity in adult life should focus on prevention of persistence of obesity from childhood into adulthood.(16,17,18) The present study showed that 31% of the study sample from King Saud university students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were overweight i.e. their body mass index (BMI) was 25- < 30 kg/m2 , and 23.3% of the university students were obese i.e. their body mass index (BMI) was more than or equal to 30 kg/m2, while only 45.8% of the university students had normal body weight i.e. their body mass index (BMI) was less than 25 kg/m2 . This emphasizes the importance of prevention of overweight and obesity from early childhood. Treatment of obesity in adults is notoriously frustrating for patients and physicians alike, and it rarely meets with long-term success. Thus, prevention is the best hope for decreasing the prevalence of overweight and obesity.(15) Furthermore, excessive weight during adolescence predicts a number of adverse effects on health later in life, including increased morbidity and mortality.(19,20,21,22) while prevention of overweight and obesity remains a key objective the development of effective strategies to help overweight and obese adults to lose weight and to maintain or improve the achieved weight loss, is currently a critical need.(22) In conclusion: prevention of overweight and obesity health problems among university students should be planned in early childhood.

Comprehensive effective strategies to help overweight and obese university students to lose weight and to maintain or improve the achieved weight loss is a priority health need. Improving University student's awareness about overweight and obesity health problems is an essential step towards decreasing the prevalence of overweight and obesity among university students and in the community.

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