Background and Objectives:
The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescent has increased in UAE. Few data were available about the burden of dyslipidemia and its association with the severity of obesity.

Methods Emirates:
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data in a random sample (1186) of 111 public and private schools in Al Ain, UAE. Body mass index ≥95 percentile for age and gender by the 2000 Centers for diseases control and prevention indicated obesity among the study participants. Fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TG) were measured. We used standard cutoff values of ≥200 mg/dL for TC, ≥130 mg/dL for LDL-C, ≥130 mg/dL for TG to indicate elevated levels, and <40 mg/dL for low HDL-C. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify correlation between obesity and dyslipidemia after controlling for age and gender.

Results:
Overall, 7.7% of participants (95% CI 6.3-9.3) had elevated TC, 10.4% (95% CI 8.7-12.2) LDL-C, 5.8% (95% CI 4.6-7.3) TG and 49.9% (95% CI 47.1-52.8) had low HDL-C dyslipidemia. After controlling for age and gender, Increase in obesity was significantly associated with increased prevalence of TC, LDL-C, TG, and low HDL dyslipidemia.

Conclusion:
A significant proportion of Emirati adolescents had dyslipidemia. These findings suggest the critical need for comprehensive intervention strategies to control obesity to decrease dyslipidemia and premature mortality.