Prevalence, level of knowledge and lifestyle association with acne vulgaris among medical students

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence, knowledge and lifestyle association with acne among medical students at King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: This quantitative, observational and cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students in March 2015 by using self-administered questionnaire survey. Statistical analysis was performed using p-value. Results: A total of three hundred and seventy-five medical students were recruited, and more than half of them had acne vulgaris (n: 208; 55.5%) with less than one third of them being diagnosed by a physician. Most of the female students (n: 75; 61%) dealt with acne as a significant medical condition when compared with only third (n: 87; 34%) of the male students (P  0.05). One hundred and twelve male students (44.8%) believed more than females (n: 39; 31%) that acne affects their marriage prospectus p < 0.05. Conclusion: Interestingly, more than half of our sample population was affected by acne vulgaris with two thirds of them not seeking for medical advice. Knowledge misconceptions were widespread among medical students, which necessitate further education in this regards

Lifestyle habits and obesity indices among male adolescents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract Obesity among adolescents is a global health apprehension which requires early prevention. The aim of this study was to determine the association between lifestyle habits including physical activity, sedentary behaviors and eating habits with obesity indices of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) among male adolescents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We randomly selected 471 secondary school male adolescents aged 14–18 years. A pre-validated self-reported questionnaire was used to record the data on physical activity level, sedentary behaviors, sleep duration and eating habits. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cutoff values for adolescents under 18 years of age were used to define overweight and obesity. Total energy expenditure was calculated using metabolic equivalent-minutes per week. Anthropometry including weight, height, BMI, waist circumference, waist/height ratio (WHtR), were assessed. 53.7% and 48.4% of the adolescents were overweight/obese and had abdominal obesity; respectively. Those with overweight and obesity or above 50% of WHtR were much less active in terms of METs-min/week from vigorous-intensity sports, sum of all METs-min/week from all vigorous-intensity physical activity, total METs-min/week from all physical activity compared with non-obese adolescents and below 50% of WHtR. The present study identified the lifestyle habits that were associated with obesity and may represent valid targets for the prevention and management of obesity among Saudi adolescents. Knowledge of the factors that contribute to obesity could be used in preventive programs for the control of obesity among adolescents