4.5.2.1 Students’ questionnaire. The Adolescent Behaviours, Attitudes and Knowledge Questionnaire (ABAKQ) (Mathews et al., 2009) was adapted to elicit information on the eating habits, physical activities and sedentary behaviour of youth. The ABAKQ questionnaire was initially piloted in a sample of 95 students from Australia (Mathews et al., 2009), and the feedback indicates that the survey was easily understood, produced reasonable answers and was both ethical and age appropriate. The original copy of the ABAKQ questionnaire consists of 83 items and was identified as too long and complex for the current study. Therefore, the researcher used 13 items from the original ABAKQ questionnaire that were related to the purpose of the current study. Many existing studies have also specifically selected items from the original ABAKQ questionnaire (Fredrickson, Kremer, Swinburn, de Silva, & McCabe, 2015; Hoare et al., 2014; Jensen et al., 2013; Fredrickson, Kremer, Swinburn, de Silva, & McCabe, 2013; Marks,
Barnett, Strugnell, & Allender, 2015). However, the current study is also seeking to collect data directly from parents rather than relying completely on the children’s reports. The following section explains the content of the student questionnaire consisting of a demographic profile, their perception of their own weight status, their eating habits and physical exercise/sedentary behaviours.
Questions 1–7 of the student questionnaire consisted of questions concerning the province’s name, the school’s name and their gender and age. In terms of their weight, the students were required to rate their perception of their weight as ‘very overweight’,
‘slightly overweight’, ‘average weight’, ‘slightly underweight’ or ‘very underweight’. The student’s actual height and weight were measured by an appropriately gendered and experienced nurse and recorded in this section.
In questions 8–14, the students were required to indicate where they usually eat their breakfast and lunch on school days. To further understand the eating habits of the students, there were questions regarding the frequency of eating dinner with family members, the frequency of eating fruit and the number of times they ate in fast food restaurants. The students were also asked to nominate their favourite foods and the number of times they ate their favourite foods per week.
In questions 15–22, students were asked about the means of transportation they used to travel to and from school and also the frequency and the time taken in walking to and from school. The students’ engagement in physical exercise was assessed, and questions regarding the students’ engagement in sports activities were also included. The students were required to indicate the number of days they engaged in dance, sports and games. Other questions aimed to determine the extent of their sedentary life styles, so questions were directed toward the students’ frequency and time spent watching videos or TV and using a tablet, computer or phone in a week. Whether or not the students have a TV in the bedroom and the role their parents play in encouraging them to be physically active or to engage in healthy eating behaviours was also assessed in the questionnaire.
Finally, the students were requested to rate their perception of the frequency with which the school encourages them to engage in sports or in healthy eating behaviour.
4.5.2.2 Parents’ questionnaire. Given that the Saudis and Kuwaitis share the same religion, language and culture, the parents’ questionnaire was adopted from Hashemi’s study (2009). The parent survey content validity and readability were reviewed
previously through an expert panel (Chiarchiaro, 2008; Hashemi, 2009). This
questionnaire investigated the factors that contribute to overweight and obesity among children between the ages of 11 and 14 years, and it explored the perceptions and knowledge of parents about overweight and obesity. The questionnaire comprises three sections with a total of 35 questions to be answered by parents. The following section explains the content of the parents’ questionnaire.
The first 15 questions of the parents’ questionnaire required the parents to indicate the following demographic data: their province, their educational level (postgraduate degree, bachelor degree, high school diploma or intermediate/primary schooling), their occupation and their monthly income. The mother and father were also required to report their own heights and weights in order to determine their BMI. The parents were also asked with whom their child lives and at what age the mother stopped
breastfeeding.
In questions 16–21, the parents were asked to report their understanding of the implications of overweight and obesity, as well as their perception of their children’s weight. The family’s health history, including whether there were diseases in the family that related to obesity, such as arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, OSAS, high cholesterol levels and high BP, was also asked to be reported.
Questions 22–25 of the parents’ questionnaire elicited information on the child’s physical activities, the type of activity or exercise the child was undertaking and the duration of the exercise performed by the child in a day, as well as their child’s involvement in physical exercise classes in school during a 1-week period. The
sedentary lifestyle of the child was also assessed. The parents were required to estimate the number of hours spent by the child playing video games, browsing the Internet, watching TV and the influence of TV advertisements on the child’s food choices.
The rest of the items in the parents’ questionnaire (items 26–35) gathered information relating to their children’s eating habits, such as types of meals consumed per day, the quantity and type of snacks consumed, the time of eating the snacks and the volume of sweetened drinks and milk consumed in a day. Other information sought about the eating habits of the child included the consumption of fried foods per week and the number of times in a week that the child ate in fast food restaurants.