Prevalence of Obesity and Some Associated Factors Among 8-12 Year Old Boy Students in SHIRAZ Print

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity and some associated factors among boy students، aged 8 to 12 years in Shiraz. This cross-sectional study was performed on 478 (male) students، 8-12 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 based on the 85th and 95th percentiles of BMI for age and sex، respectively، as proposed by Center for Disease Control (CDC). Physical fitness level and family conditions were collected by a standard Baecke questionnaire. The prevalence of obesity، overweight and underweight in 8-12 year old students were 7. 1%، 11. 9% and 14. 8% respectively. Results showed that there were inverse relationships between BMI and age and the parent''s education (P<0. 05). On the other hand، although BMI had positive associations with the time spent watching TV، fast food consumption، time spent on exercise and walking during a week، they were not achieve statistically significant. The lower the level of parent''s education، the more the increase in student''s BMI، findings which emphasize the need for awareness about childhood obesity complications among parents.