In recent years, the prevalence and rise of childhood and adolescent obesity became a matter of major concern not only in developed countries but also in developing ones. In the US, National data from NHANES III demonstrated that the prevalence of adolescent obesity (14–19 years of age) has risen almost 3-fold in a period of 20 years, from 5% in 1976–1980 to 15% in 1999–2000. Several studies have demonstrated that the higher childhood body mass index (BMI) the greater the risk of becoming an overweight adult with the risk being heightened in adolescence. For example, while an obese 4-year-old child has a 20% chance of becoming an obese adult, the likelihood that obesity in adolescence would persist into adulthood is increased to 80%. Child and adolescent obesity is suspected to be caused by an interaction between genetic, biologic, psychologic, sociocultural and environmental factors. Of the modifiable factors, a decreased energy intake and an increase in energy expenditure were frequently associated with averting overweight and obesity in this age group. Understanding and identifying the underlying factors for obesity is crucial for effective intervention strategies. A recent study in the US indicated that although much of the debate on obesity has focused on diet, evidence suggests that physical activity plays a significant role in obesity for adolescents 12–19 years of age. In Lebanon, data on the magnitude and gravity of adolescent overweight and obesity and their covariates are not available. This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, identify its covariates and suggest intervention strategies for prevention and control.

The data for this paper is based on secondary analysis of an earlier study conducted in Lebanon in 1997. The design and conduct of the survey have been published in detail elsewhere. Briefly, this was a national survey of a sample of 2,104 individuals of all age groups distributed across all the Governorates in Lebanon and was based on the sampling frame of the minicensus (10% of population) of the Population and Housing Survey (PHS) conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1996 in collaboration with United Nations Fund for Population Activities. The analysis in this paper focused on 792 subjects consisting of 339 children (6–11 years) and 453 adolescents (12–19 years).