Results from Lebanon’s 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

The prevalence of childhood obesity in Lebanon nearly doubled between 1997 and 2009. This shift in population health is extremely alarming, given that obesity is associated with a host of chronic diseases (eg, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, cancer) representing the primary causes of death and disease burden in 2012. Low physical activity (PA) levels and engagement in greater sedentary activities have been used to explain such trends. However, little is known about PA indicators among Lebanese children and youth. This led to the development of Lebanon’s first Physical Activity Report Card for Children and Youth (Figure 1).