Assessment of anxiety in 12-18 years old overweight and obese students in Isfahan

Childhood obesity has become a health hazard in different communities. In addition to organic disorders, it can also lead to some psychological disturbances such as anxiety. To compare the mean anxiety score between overweight and obese adolescents with controls, and to assess the correlation between the anxiety of adolescents with their school performance and the jobs of their parents. This case-control study was performed in 2003 among 266 students aged between 12-18. They were selected by multi-stage random sampling from among guiding-and high schools of Isfahan. Ninety three overweight and obese students [body mass index or BMI>85th age and gender specific percentile] were considered as the case group and 176 students with a BMI<85th percentile as controls. Two questionnaires, validated in a pilot study on 50 students, were completed by each subject. Data were analyzed by SPSS 11 software using the t-Student Chi-Square, ANOVA and Pearson correlation at p<0.05. The mean anxiety score and the school performance were not significantly different between two groups. A significant correlation was found between the parents' jobs and the mean anxiety score and school performance of their children. The students whose parents were an employee or teacher had a lower anxiety score and a better school performance. In spite of higher anxiety score in obese adolescents found in western countries, the present study was not indicative of any significant difference between two groups which is supposed to be mainly associated with a public opinion in which many people in our society yet believe that the obesity is an indicator of health. Larger longitudinal studies are recommended