[Prevalence of obesity and some related factors among students aged 7 to 12 in Semnan, Iran]

Obesity is one of the most important public health problems. During recent decades, prevalence of obesity among children has increased and this is also observed among Iranian children. This study is aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity and some related factors among students aged 7 to 12 in Semnan. This was a cross sectional study. 400 students aged between 7 to 12, were selected by randomized sampling from 20 elementary school. We measured height and weight of children and their parents to calculate BMI. They also completed a questionnaire which was designed to collect some interested variables. 14/3% of children were [obese] and 18/8% of them were categorized as [over weight]. There was a significant association between obesity and gender, so a higher rate of obesity in boys and overweight in girls was observed. Also getting older per each year, the obesity became higher 1.26 times. A significant relationship was observed between obesity of father, mother and children, so an increase of each unit of BMI their father and mother, the obesity chance in children became equal to 1.18 and 1.15 respectively. There was no significant association between obesity and other parameter studied such as consuming of fast food, watching TV and working with computer, daily commute to school, rank of birth, number of families, or parent's educational levels. The prevalence of obesity during childhood is increasing, in Semnan and it correlates with obesity of parents. Therefore training of parents and also their children might be an effective way to decrease obesity among children

[Effects of educational intervention on women's behaviors in utilization of oils and fats]

Studying the practice of families on fats and oils consumption has an essential role in determination of health status in a community. Here, we investigated the effect of educational intervention on women's behavior about oils and fats consumption in Tadayon and Family health centers in Semnan, Iran. In this study, 250 and 255 families were selected by the coincidental cluster sampling, before and after intervention, respectively. Data were collected by questionnaire via of interview. The intervention consisted of speeches, installation mentioned in the leaflet, leaflet distribution and printing educational materials in the local newspaper. In the majority of families, the first preference of oil for preparation of non fried foods [56.4 vs. 36.8, before and after intervention, respectively] and fried foods [60.8 vs. 32.7, before and after intervention, respectively] was solid hydrogenated vegetable oil. After training, the use of conventional liquid oil and frying oil for the preparation of fried and non-fired foods was increased significantly [p<0.001]. After intervention the percent of subjects who removed the visible fat from red meats was increased from 52% to 62.5% [p<0.01]. In addition, after intervention the percent of people believed to be harmful usage of hydrogenated oil was increased [p<0.028]. The results of this study showed that educational interventions can increase knowledge and correct behaviors of families in the field of oils and fats consumption. Therefore, implementation and continuation of these programs should be regarded in the health system

[Study of the breakfast habits and its relationship with some factors in Semnan [Iran] pupils]

Proper nutrition is one of the essential factors to well being for children and adolescents. Meanwhile, breakfast has a major role to supply their requirement nutrients and energy. There are some experimental evidences that suggest that omitting breakfast negatively affects cognitive functioning. This survey was performed to study of breakfast habits and its relationships with some factors in Semnan [Iran] pupils during 2006. In this descriptive analytical study, 1193 pupils in different educational grades were selected by the multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected by using a questionnaire and analyzed with Kruskal Wallis, Mann - Whitney and Spearman Coefficient Correlation tests using SPSS software. The mean and standard deviation of age was 12.4 +/- 3.3 years old. 50.7% of them were boys and 49.3% were girls. 53.4% of the pupils stated that they always eat breakfast and the rest of them, do not eat irregularly. 4.4% of the pupils said they never eat breakfast. In this study, there was significant relationship between breakfast habits and age [P<.01], educational grade [P<.0001], sex [P<.0001], the time of getting up in the morning [P<.0001], sleeping time at night [P<.0001], the education of pupil's mother [P<.04], the education of pupil's father [P<.05], the birth rank [P<.05] and the intervention of pupils in the breakfast planning [P<.0001]. According to pupils' breakfast for three continuous days, the relative consumption of bread [2.26], tea [2.20] and cheese [1.66] was higher than other foods, such as milk, walnut, honey, egg, fruit and fruit juice. These finding showed that pupils need to learn more about both irregular intake of breakfast and various intake of nutritious foods and this issue must be considered by different authorities