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 crosssectional 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% CI: 0.50-0.96) and higher among private-school educated children compared with public-school educated students (age adjusted OR = 2.17, 95% CI: 1.47-3.18). For each additional score of leisure time physical activity, the age-adjusted OR decreased significantly.