• Marwa H Abdelhamed, Shaimaa Salah, Khloud K ALqudsi, Majd M Jan, Duaa K Alahdal, Saher A Alfaifi, Nuha M Jafar, Naseem Y Alyahyawi, and Abdulmoein A Al-Agha.
• From the Pediatric Department (Abdelhamed), Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University; Pediatric Department (Salah), Faculty of Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr Elsheikh; from the Diet & Patient Meal Services (Alqudsi), International Medical Center, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; From the Medicine Department (Jan), Ibn Sina National College for Medical Studies; from the Clinical Nutrition Department (Alahdal), from the Nutrition and Food Science Department (Alfaifi), from the Clinical Nutrition Department (Jafar), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; from the Pediatric Department (Alyahyawi), Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Med J. 2022 Feb 1; 43 (2): 161-168.

ObjectivesTo evaluated obesity-related morbidity prevalence among overweight/obese children and adolescents in Saudi Arabia, adiposity indicators and insulin resistance as obesity-related morbidity predictors.MethodsWe enrolled 318 overweight/obese children attending a Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Saudi Arabia, aged 2-20 years in this retrospective cross-sectional study from September 2019 to March 2021. All children had nutritional obesity, and their body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score was higher than one standard deviation score above the mean for their age and gender. Clinical adiposity indices including BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and bioimpedance analysis (BIA) of body composition were assessed. Biochemical testing of insulin resistance through homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance and fasting insulin was performed, along with receiver operating curve analysis to obtain optimal cut-off points for obesity-related morbidity.ResultsObesity related morbidity was found in 61.9%, whereas insulin resistance was detected among 64.7% of the patients. Body mass index standard deviation score, WC, BAI of body composition-derived body fat, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, and fasting insulin are significant obesity-related morbidity predictors, and the cut-off points were established.ConclusionObesity-related morbidity is widely prevalent among obese children and insulin resistance is a key factor in its prediction. Clinical adiposity indices, given their accuracy and practicability, are important predictors of obesity-related morbidity.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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