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Objective. To study the pattern of fluid consumption in a group of Saudi adolescent boys and girls aged 12–13 years. Design. Prospective study. Methods. Three hundred forty-four boys and girls attending school in Riyadh recorded their fluid intake for three consecutive days, including one weekend day, in April and May 2002. Types of drink/beverage and total amount consumed were analysed and ranked in order of amount/quantity of consumption. Independent samples t-test was used to compare between genders. Results. Mean daily fluid intake was 1917 mL (SD 287). Drinking water provided 37%, whereas carbonated soft drinks and fruit juice/drink accounted for 26% and 25%, respectively. Seven percent of total fluid intake amounting to 134 mL came from milk and 5% (103 mL) was from tea/coffee. Fluid intake was higher in boys (2006 mL) than in girls (1821 mL) ( P = 0·049). This was also true for carbonated soft drinks ( P = 0·050) and tea/coffee ( P = 0·000). Girls consumed more milk ( P = 0·001) and fruit juice/drink ( P = 0·001) than boys. Conclusion. Both carbonated soft drink and fruit juice/drink accounted for the largest proportion of total fluid intake by the sampled Saudi adolescents to the detriment of nutritious milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to evaluate the prevalence of trait of Carabelli in Saudi Arabian children. 250 children, aged 7 to 10 years were examined. The criterion of inclusion was caries free maxillary second deciduous and first permanent molars. The prevalence of the trait was 58.7% with almost similar distribution between males and females. The tubercular variety was the commonest type, which was significantly more in males than females. The frequency of the trait was similar to that of Malaysians but less than for other population groups.