Table 3 Health risk indicators in 2005, 2010 and 2016 among male school adolescents, UAE

Body weight and dietary behaviour

 Overweight or obesity

1510 (21.2)

421 (43.7)

1074 (42.1)

2.93 (2.45, 3.50)***

2.82 (2.41, 3.32)***

 Obesity

928 (13.2)

186 (19.8)

556 (21.3)

1.69 (1.37, 2.10)***

1.77 (1.46, 2.14)***

 Fruits < 2 day

5275 (68.7)

753 (70.6)

1695 (61.6)

1.07 (0.93, 1.23)

0.63 (0.53, 0.76)***

 Vegetable < 3 day

6205 (81.0)

853 (79.9)

2159 (78.4)

0.92 (0.79, 1.07)

0.77 (0.66, 0.89)***

 Went hungry (mostly/always)

815 (10.0)

59 (6.2)

241 (7.9)

0.60 (0.43, 0.85)**

0.70 (0.55, 0.90)**

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour

 Inadequate physical activity

5768 (77.1)

797 (77.5)

2150 (79.7)

1.04 (0.85, 1.27)

1.10 (0.94, 1.29)

 Leisure-time sedentary behaviour

2814 (38.0)

475 (45.0)

1322 (51.1)

1.27 (1.04, 1.55)*

1.53 (1.30, 1.80)***

Current tobacco use

1394 (13.2)

251 (19.8)

705 (21.3)

1.24 (0.98, 1.56)

1.10 (0.88, 1.36)

Injury and violence

 Any serious injury (past year)

2243 (38.4)

481 (51.8)

1219 (51.0)

1.81 (1.57, 2.09)***

1.72 (1.50, 1.97)***

 Bullied (past month)

1714 (24.5)

260 (25.9)

810 (29.9)

1.14 (0.95, 1.36)

1.41 (1.20, 1.67)***

 In physical fight (past year)

4329 (56.9)

646 (60.9)

1403 (50.8)

1.20 (1.01, 1.44)*

0.84 (0.71, 0.99)*

 Physically attacked (past year)

3100 (40.8)

448 (42.0)

916 (32.8)

1.15 (0.97, 1.37)

0.79 (0.69, 0.91)**

Oral and hand hygiene

 Brushing teeth (≤ once/day)

3665 (48.6)

498 (46.8)

1270 (46.1)

0.91 (0.73. 1.12)

0.83 (0.68, 1.02)

 Wash hands before eating (not always)

2210 (29.6)

413 (38.7)

1081 (41.6)

1.53 (1.19, 1.97)***

1.67 (1.34, 2.08)***

 Wash hands after toilet/ latrine use (not always)

1271 (17.1)

203 (19.3)

554 (19.2)

1.24 (1.02, 1.51)*

1.13 (0.90, 1.43)

 Wash hands with soap (not always)

2580 (34.9)

363 (34.0)

912 (33.1)

0.97 (0.82, 1.14)

0.92 (0.78, 1.10)

Poor mental health

 Having no close friends

478 (6.6)

74 (7.2)

205 (7.0)

1.16 (0.86, 1.56)

1.14 (0.84, 1.55)

 Loneliness (past year)

967 (13.1)

166 (15.9)

329 (11.6)

1.32 (1.03, 1.69)*

0.76 (0.64, 0.90)**

 Worry-induced sleep disturbance (past year)

792 (10.6)

140 (13.0)

331 (11.9)

1.35 (1.05, 1.73)*

1.00 (0.85, 1.19)

 Suicidal ideation (past year)

945 (13.4)

147 (14.7)

199 (12.5)

0.93 (0.70, 1.22)

0.95 (0.69, 1.30)

 Suicide plan (past year)

692 (10.3)

145 (14.2)

154 (9.5)

1.29 (1.03, 1.57)*

0.93 (0.69, 1.22)

Protective factors

 Truancy (past month)

2461 (34.0)

387 (38.3)

1108 (40.2)

1.19 (0.93, 1.53)

1.10 (0.87, 1.39)

 Peer support (mostly/always)

4167 (55.6)

590 (56.7)

1521 (56.9)

1.00 (0.82, 1.23)

1.03 (0.86, 1.24)

 Parents/guardians supervision (mostly/always)

4055 (54.8)

522 (52.3)

1248 (44.7)

0.90 (0.74, 1.10)

0.72 (0.60, 0.85)***

 Parents/guardians connectedness (mostly/always)

3634 (50.1)

465 (45.0)

1162 (45.2)

0.79 (0.67, 0.94)**

0.88 (0.76, 1.02)

 Parents or guardians bonding (mostly/always)

3935 (52.9)

478 (46.1)

1319 (49.9)

0.75 (0.62, 0.91)**

1.03 (0.87, 1.21)