Niveles administrativos

Saudi Arabia occupies the majority of the Arabic Peninsula with the area of about 2,250,000 square kilometres (868,730 square miles). The capital city is Riyadh (population in 2006: 5.8 million) (SAMIRAD, 2010). It comprises 13 administrative provinces. The population of Saudi Arabia was estimated at 25,795 in July 2004, and

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around five and a half million of the people living in Saudi Arabia are non-nationals (Saudi national statistic department, national census report, 2004). Saudi is a young nation; perhaps as much as half of the population is under twenty four years of age.

Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, occupying almost 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia-Ministry of foreign affairs, 2010) with the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east. Neighbouring countries are Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq. Its oil region lies primarily in the eastern province along the Persian Gulf (See Figure 2.1) (CIA-The World Factbook, 2010).

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Saudi Arabia is not only one of the homelands for the Arabs, but also the birthplace of Islam, the world's second-largest religion. Islam was founded by Prophet Muhammad, and it is the location of the two holy Muslims pilgrimage cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia is the most conservative country in the Middle East and most (if not all) people are Muslim (Saudi Arabia-Ministry of foreign affairs, 2010).

Religion plays a significant role in the life of Saudi people. The majority of Saudi laws and policies are based on Islam. To understand the history of the Kingdom and its political, economic and social development, it is necessary to realize that Islam, which permeates every aspect of a Muslim's life, also permeates every aspect of the Saudi Arabian state (SAMIRAD, 2010). Islam as a religion has rules that influence people behaviours, attitude and life in Saudi Arabia. For example, sexual intercourse out of marriage and drinking alcohol are strictly forbidden. Furthermore, if something like that happens and is discovered, there will be religiously based punishments, so people tend not to practice prohibited behaviours even if they want to. However, due to the stigma associated with some behaviour, when people practise some prohibited behaviours they tend to hide them to avoid being penalized, which might prevent them from seeking help. However, people in Saudi Arabia believe that Islam is the perfect guidance and therefore limit prohibited activities and encourage behaving according to the law.

The Arab name is a categorization based mainly on Arabic languages and a shared sense of geographic, historical and cultural identity. Arabs may be different and diverse according to religious belief type and level, nationality and culture. The huge majority of Arabs are Muslim; however, Christian and Jewish Arabs make up most of the none Muslim Arab population. Islam is strongly associated with Arab identity because of the origins of Islam in the Arabian land.

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with strong government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 20% of the world's proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings (CIA-The World Factbook, 2010).

There is a paucity of research and field studies in many areas, particularly on risky behaviours in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and other Arabic

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countries. Health related behaviour studies constitute a fundamental step in the strategic planning of adolescent health programs as well as in identifying priority health problems. This is also a crucial step for any successful health promotion program and public health in general.

As a result of general development and global changes in many different aspects around the world such as in technology, media, social context, and beliefs which all may have influences on adolescents’ attitudes, knowledge and behaviours, adolescents and youth face great challenges, especially in such a conservative country like Saudi Arabia. However, during the past 3-4 decades, rapid developments in standards of living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and increased mechanization have touched all aspects of people’s lives. As a consequence, great changes in diet and nutrition habits and physical activity have occurred in Saudi society and low levels of physical activity and sedentary living are becoming increasingly prevalent among the Saudi population (Al-hazzaa, 2002; Al-Rukban, 2003). Furthermore, it is assumed that changes have also happened to other risk behaviours (e.g. smoking, violence, injuries and accidents). Moreover, with massive urbanization and increased reliance on computers and technology, further reductions in physical activity and increase in obesity are projected for the coming years. Moreover, as a result of global changes and development in technology, media, social context, and beliefs which all may have influence on adolescents’ behaviours, adolescents and youths face great challenges especially in a conservative country like Saudi Arabia. There are many conflicts between what the Saudi adolescents are told to do regarding their culture and religion and what they notice that other adolescents in different countries are enjoying doing. As a result of the stigma around some behaviour, for instance smoking and sexual activity out of marriage, Saudi adolescents may tend to conceal their risk behaviours, which prevent them from seeking help until the situation has become complicated or dangerous.

While the majority of adolescent morbidity and mortality is preventable, health providers, communities and policy-makers have not given adequate attention to opportunities for health promotion and prevention activities in Saudi Arabia.

Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia suffers from a lack of emphasis on important public health topics, especially with regard to adolescent health and risk behaviours. Moreover, it seems that children and adolescents are not viewed as a priority. As a

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result, a wide range of adolescent health issues are being neglected and health promotion initiatives have been sorely inadequate, never attracting the attention they deserve in Saudi Arabia and may be in other Arabic countries in the region. Hence, the present study will investigate adolescents’ health behaviours and factors associated with them. This study will add to existing knowledge, and not replicate what already exists.