[01] Sawsan Al-Nahas, School Health Section, Public Health Protection Department, Dubai Healthcare Corporation, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [02] Ahmed Soliman Wasfi, School Health Section, Public Health Protection Department, Dubai Healthcare Corporation, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [03] Essam El Sawaf, Health Centers Department, Primary Health Care Services Sector, Dubai Healthcare Corporation, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [04] Nehad Hasan Mahdy, Health Centers Department, Primary Health Care Services Sector, Dubai Healthcare Corporation, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [05] Waleed Al Faisa, School Health Section, Public Health Protection Department, Dubai Healthcare Corporation, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Obesity is often defined as a condition of abnormal and excessive fat accumulation in adipose tissue to the extent that health may be adversely affected. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate in both developing and developed countries. Several dietary behaviours have been linked with adult and childhood obesity. The objective is to identify dietary behaviors in the past 7 days preceding the study and determine their association with BMI among secondary school students in Dubai. A cross sectional study was carried out in private and governmental schools in Dubai, 2011. Stratified random sample was used to select a sample of 1221 students. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data of dietary behaviours in the past seven days. Body weight and height were measured in order to calculate Body Mass Index and link it with dietary behaviours. A percentage of 20.1% of the students had good dietary behaviours, 67.8% had fair dietary behaviour, and 12.1% had poor dietary behaviors. A percentage of 34.6% of the students were overweight and obese (19.5% & 15.1% respectively) while 5.0% were underweight. Looking to soft drink consumption, it was observed that, students who were consuming soft drinks everyday had the highest percentage of overweight/ obesity (44.6%), as compared to those who were not consuming soft drinks in the past 7 days of the survey (25.8%) and this was statistically significant. Concerning fast food consumption, 41.0% of students who were eating fast food 5 times or more per week were overweight/ obese, as compared to 27.5% who were not eating fast food in the past 7 days of the survey, and this was statistically significant. The highest mean dietary behavior score was found among those with normal BMI (13.43 kg/m²), while it was 12.56 kg/m² among overweight and 12.12 kg/m² among obese. The difference was statistically significant. There was only one significant predictor for overweight and obesity which was soft drink consumption. Students who consume soft drink everyday were more likely to be overweight/ obese relative to those who did not drink it in the past 7 days preceding the study, (OR=2.31, CI= 1.65-3.24). Students who demonstrated the highest mean dietary behavior score were more likely to be of normal BMI, while those of lowest one were overweight or obese. There was only one significant predictor for overweight and obesity, which was soft drink consumption. Further studies are needed.

Dietary Behaviour, Body Mass Index, Adolescents, Dubai

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