Table 4 Health risk indicators in 2005, 2010 and 2016 among female school adolescents, UAE

Body weight and dietary behaviour

 Overweight or obesity

1589 (21.7)

484 (36.0)

1013 (35.6)

2.05 (1.69, 2.48)***

2.09 (1.77, 2.46)***

 Obesity

782 (11.0)

177 (12.4)

383 (13.0)

1.20 (0.93, 1.56)

1.16 (0.98, 1.39)

 Fruits <2 day

5798 (75.2)

1110 (76.2)

2138 (68.6)

1.05 (0.85, 1.29)

0.62 (0.49, 0.80)***

 Vegetable <3 day

6602 (84.7)

1232 (84.8)

2459 (79.5)

0.96 (0.80, 1.17)

0.63 (0.52, 0.78)***

 Went hungry (mostly/always)

672 (8.9)

72 (5.0)

332 (9.9)

0.56 (0.38, 0.85)**

1.00 (0.77, 1.30)

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour

 Inadequate physical activity

6513 (83.8)

1250 (86.7)

2660 (88.6)

1.26 (0.99, 1.60)

1.37 (1.14, 1.66)***

 Leisure-time sedentary behaviour

3019 (39.6)

790 (56.0)

1974 (66.7)

1.90 (1.53, 2.30)***

2.63 (2.21, 3.12)***

Current tobacco use

453 (5.7)

121 (9.3)

293 (10.4)

1.81 (1.15, 2.84)*

1.43 (0.98, 2.10)

Injury and violence

 Any serious injury (past year)

1243 (19.0)

464 (35.1)

940 (34.5)

2.48 (2.07, 2.97)***

2.22 (1.84, 2.67)***

 Bullied (past month)

1292 (17.2)

297 (20.7)

605 (20.5)

1.37 (1.11, 1.69)**

1.27 (1.05, 1.53)*

 In physical fight (past year)

2329 (29.5)

539 (36.5)

806 (26.5)

1.48 (1.26, 1.74)***

0.91 (0.73, 1.13)

 Physically attacked (past year)

1838 (23.0)

411 (28.5)

555 (18.2)

1.53 (1.24, 1.88)**

0.79 (0.64, 0.97)*

Oral and hand hygiene

 Brushing teeth (≤once/day)

2801 (37.9)

450 (31.4)

870 (28.3)

0.76 (0.63, 0.93)**

0.60 (0.48, 0.75)***

 Wash hands before eating (not always)

2385 (31.9)

603 (40.5)

1431 (49.0)

1.44 (1.16, 1.78)***

2.03 (1.67, 2.47)***

 Wash hands after toilet/ latrine use (not always)

1149 (15.3)

236 (15.6)

549 (17.7)

1.10 (0.89, 1.36)

1.15 (0.98, 1.35)

 Wash hands with soap (not always)

2175 (28.3)

496 (32.7)

912 (30.6)

1.27 (0.99, 1.62)

1.19 (0.97, 1.47)

Poor mental health

 Having no close friends

489 (6.2)

76 (5.3)

204 (6.6)

0.89 (0.68, 1.17)

1.01 (0.81, 1.26)

 Loneliness (past year)

1368 (17.7)

260 (17.9)

485 (16.0)

1.14 (0.93, 1.39)

0.72 (0.59, 0.88)**

 Worry-induced sleep disturbance (past year)

1360 (18.1)

270 (19.4)

628 (20.5)

1.20 (0.97, 1.49)

0.95 (0.79, 1.14)

 Suicidal ideation (past year)

982 (12.5)

240 (17.5)

289 (15.2)

1.13 (0.85, 1.51)

0.98 (0.76, 1.06)

 Suicide plan (past year)

717 (9.2)

234 (16.9)

241 (12.4)

1.65 (1.32, 2.05)***

1.25 (0.97, 1.64)

Protective factors

 Truancy (past month)

2089 (28.3)

526 (37.2)

1335 (41.4)

1.63 (1.32, 2.01)***

1.41 (1.03, 1.92)*

 Peer support (mostly/always)

5488 (71.0)

1036 (72.0)

2104 (68.0)

1.00 (0.83, 1.21)

0.87 (0.70, 1.07)

 Parents/guardians supervision (mostly/always)

3646 (47.9)

588 (41.6)

1221 (39.0)

0.75 (0.59, 0.95)*

0.78 (0.63, 0.98)*

 Parents/guardians connectedness (mostly/always)

3960 (51.2)

691 (47.1)

1428 (47.7)

0.80 (0.67, 0.94)**

0.96 (0.82, 1.13)

 Parents or guardians bonding (mostly/always)

4477 (58.3)

756 (51.6)

1676 (56.6)

0.72 (0.62, 0.84)***

1.06 (0.87, 1.29)