[Prevalence of overweight, obesity and physical fitness in Shiraz adolescents]

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity and physical fitness in Shiraz adolescents. This cross-sectional study was performed on 808 [boys] students, 14-16 years old. The subjects were selected via a step wise random sampling. Height and weight of the subjects were measured by standard methods and body mass index [BMI] was calculated. Overweight and obesity were defined on the 85th and 95th percentiles of BMI for age and sex, respectively, as proposed by CDC. Physical fitness of the subjects were measured by sit-up, modified pull-up, sit-and-reach, 540 m running, 45 m running and 4 x 9 m shuttle run test. The prevalences of overweight in 14, 15 and 16 year old students were 13.4%, 9.2% and 7.8% respectively and the prevalences of obesity were 7.8%, 5.9% and 4.4% respectively. The results showed that the physical fitness had a tendency to decrease as body fat percent and BMI increased. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Shiraz adolescents are higher than in some other areas of the Iran and the world and obesity increases among adolescents during the early years. There were inverse relationships between physical fitness levels with body fat percent and BMI, findings that emphasize exercise for overweight and obese adolescents