teenage girls
The press conference of the Saudi Society of Family and Community Medicine shed light on international medical research that confirms the extent of the danger that obesity poses to adolescents in the Kingdom, in light of the steady increase of obese adolescents.
A study conducted by King Saud University for Health Sciences indicates that most Saudi teenage girls do not eat breakfast and follow a diet high in sugar, as a result of eating large amounts of fast food and soft drinks. The Saudi Society of Family Medicine held its virtual press conference today With the aim of raising health awareness against the dangers of obesity, with the participation of a group of doctors and consultants specializing in family and community medicine, pediatrics and endocrinology from the association, and from the largest medical and research centers in the Kingdom.
The General Supervisor of the Society’s branch in Jeddah, Dr. Sami bin Saleh Eid, explained that the Society aims, by organizing this conference, to increase the dissemination of health awareness in the community, especially with regard to the harms and risks of obesity for adolescents aged 10-19.
For his part, the Vice President of the Society, Family Medicine Consultant, Dr. Ashraf Amir, explained in a lecture entitled “The Role of the Family Physician in Combating Obesity” the importance of the role that the family doctor presents to his community. In addition, Dr. Melvin de Sousa, during the conference, shed light on international medical research that confirms the extent of the danger that obesity poses to adolescents worldwide, especially in the Kingdom, which necessitated holding this awareness conference to warn of the disease and to introduce the methods and mechanisms of its treatment.
Consultant Pediatric Endocrinology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Dr. Bassam bin Abbas, stressed the importance of observing the weight of adolescents and children, noting that the percentage of obesity increases in children as a result of lack of physical and motor activity, in addition to eating fast foods that contain a high amount of calories and unhealthy fats. saturated.
The conference touched on the obesity rate among children aged 10 to 19 in the Kingdom, which amounted to 17.1% during 2017, and it is expected that the percentage will rise in 2023 to 23.3%.
