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Osman Galal

Publications and source records attributed to Osman Galal.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Overweight and obesity status among adolescents from Mexico and Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is on the rise among adults, adolescents and children worldwide, including populations living in developing countries. This study aimed to describe body mass index of adolescents from Mexico and Egypt and to evaluate non-nutritional correlates from two cohort studies. METHODS: Questionnaire data and weight and height measurements were collected in two large baseline studies in adolescents between 11 and 19 years old attending public school during the 1998-1999 school year in Mexico (n = 10,537) and the 1997 school year in Egypt (n = 1,502). The authors compared body mass index and correlates stratified by sex and country through multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 19.8 and 7.9%, respectively, among the Mexican adolescents and 12.1 and 6.2%, respectively, among the Egyptian adolescents. Based on U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition growth charts, for Mexico 18% of boys and 21% of girls were overweight and 11% of boys and 9% of girls were obese. In the Egyptian sample, 7% of boys and 18% of girls were overweight and 6% of boys and 8% of girls were obese. The most consistent correlates of body mass index in the Mexican population were age, years of education, smoking, vitamin intake and participating in sports, whereas the factors correlated among Egyptian adolescents were age and rural residence. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity and overweight are becoming a problem among Mexican and Egyptian youth. Information about the risk factors associated with excessive weight gain during the adolescent period is a first step towards proposing prevention strategies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Intra-familial physical violence among Mexican and Egyptian youth.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of experiencing intra-familial violence among Mexican and Egyptian youth and to describe its associated risk factors. METHODS: Data from questionnaires applied to 12,862 Mexican and 5,662 Egyptian youth, aged 10 to 19, who attended public schools were analyzed. Biviarate and logistic regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between socio-demographics, the experience of intra-familial violence and violence perpetration. RESULTS: The prevalence of having experienced intra-familial violence was comparable across the Mexican and Egyptian populations (14% and 17%, respectively). In Mexico, young men were more likely to have experienced such violence (OR=2.36) than women, whereas in Egypt, young women were at slightly greater risk than young men (OR=1.25). Older age, male gender and urban residence were independent correlates of experiencing intra-familial violence among Mexican youth. For Egyptian adolescents, in contrast, younger age, female gender and having non-married parents were independent correlates of victimization. Intra-familial violence victims were also more likely than non-victims to perpetrate violence (Mexico: OR=13.13; Egypt: OR=6.58). CONCLUSIONS: Mexican and Egyptian youth experienced intra-familial violence at a relatively low prevalence when compared with youth of other countries. A strong association was found between experiencing intra-familial violence and perpetrating violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Nutrition-related health patterns in the Middle East.

Nutritionally-related health patterns in the Middle East have changed significantly during the last two decades. The main forces that have contributed to these changes are the rapid changes in the demographic characteristics of the region, speedy urbanization, and social development in the absence of steady and significant economic growth. Within these changes, the Middle East has the highest dietary energy surplus of the developing countries. The population in the region has a low poverty prevalence, at 4%. The region's child malnutrition rate is 19%, suggesting that nutrition insecurity remains a problem due mainly to poor health care and not due to inadequate dietary energy supply or poverty. The one extreme country, Afghanistan, has an extremely high dietary energy deficit of 490 kilocalories and a 40% malnutrition rate. Iran and Egypt have relatively high child malnutrition rates of 39 and 16% respectively, but belong to the dietary energy surplus group. Morocco and the United Emirates have the lowest child malnutrition rates of 6 and 8% respectively. In the Middle East, as in other parts of the world, large shifts have occurred in dietary and physical activity patterns. These changes are reflected in nutritional and health outcomes. Rising obesity rates and high levels of chronic and degenerative diseases are observed. These pressing factors that include the nature and changes in the food consumption pattern, globalization of food supply, and the inequity in health care will be discussed.

Demography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparative study of correlates of early age at menarche among Mexican and Egyptian adolescents.

We compared the median age at menarche in two developing countries to determine whether early age at menarche varies across body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic level, and urban/rural residence in Mexican and Egyptian adolescents. Questionnaire data and weight and height measurements were collected from 4,143 Mexican and 493 Egyptian adolescent girls (age, 10-19 years). Statistical analysis included Pearson chi-squared, Student t-test, and multiple logistic regression models. Median age at menarche was 12 years (range, 8-19 years) for Mexican girls and 13 years (range, 9-16) for Egyptian girls. In both countries, the odds of undergoing menarche at an earlier age were higher among adolescents with the following characteristics: overweight or obesity, as compared to those with a normal BMI (Mexican adolescents, OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.25-1.69; Egyptian adolescents, OR = 2.20, 95% CI 1.21-4.03); living in urban versus rural areas (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.19-1.61 and OR = 1.38, 95% CI 0.74-2.59, respectively); high socioeconomic level versus the lowest level (OR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.22-1.74 and OR = 1.41, 95% CI 0.67-2.98, respectively). The associations between early age at menarche and urban residence or high socioeconomic level were statistically significant only in Mexican adolescents. Menarche at an earlier age was most strongly associated with overweight and obesity in both Mexican and Egyptian adolescents, while urban residence and high socioeconomic level were significantly associated only in Mexican adolescents.

Adolescent↗