Prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated risk factors in urban primary-school children in Babol, Islamic Republic of Iran

ABSTRACT

Childhood obesity is a major public health problem globally because of changes in lifestyles. We assessed the prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors in urban schoolchildren in Babol in a cross-sectional study of 1000 schoolchildren aged 7-12 years. Weight and height were measured and data on sports activities and leisure time physical activities were collected by questionnaire. Overweight/obesity were assessed by comparing body mass index [BMI] values to the BMI index for age and sex percentiles set by CDC, Atlanta. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 5.8% and 12.3% respectively. The prevalence was significantly lower in girls compared with boys [age-adjusted OR= 0.69, 95% Cl 0.50-0.96] and higher among private-school educated children compared with public-school educated students [age adjusted OR = 2.17, 95% Cl 1.47-3.18]. For each additional score of leisure time physical activity, the age-adjusted OR decreased significantly