The Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight and Its Relevance to Transportation Among Primary School Students: Yazd, Iran; 2015

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in all age groups, especially in childhood, has become alarming. Identification, intervention, and prevention are important factors affecting it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association the body mass index (BMI) in children and transportation to school in greater areas of Yazd during 2014 - 2015. This is an analytical cross-sectional study. It was conducted on 2000 primary school students between six to 13 years old who lived in the greater areas of Yazd. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire. Anthropometrics were collected using standardized instruments. In this study, 2000 students were enrolled and 1700 students’ information aged between six to 13 years were recruited completely. About 42% of the participants were male. The mean ± SD age of students was 9.55 (± 1.9) years old. The frequency of normal weight was 56%, overweight was 10.9%, and obesity was 20.6. Students who actively commuted to school had a lower BMI (P = 0.035). The results of this study showed that the way students can travel could affect their BMI. The use of vehicle was higher in obese and overweight students.