Comparison of Overweight and Obesity among Female Adolescents of Azeri and Kurd Ethnicity in Urmia City

Overweight and obesity are public health concerns in adolescence that can be affected by socio-cultural factors. The aim of this study was to determine and compare overweight and obesity among female adolescents of Azeri and Kurd ethnicity living in Urmia city.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 female students (Azeri=219; Kurd=131) aged 16-18 years old. Schools were selected by stratified cluster random sampling and in each school; students were selected through simple random sampling. Socio-economic and demographic data were collected by face-to-face interview. Adolescents’ weight and height were measured using standard techniques. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) cutoffs were used for determining overweight and obesity. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23 and independent-samples t-test and chi-square test were used to compare quantitative and qualitative data among Azeri and Kurd groups.

The mean )SD) age was 16.8 (0.8) among Kurd and 16.7 (0.7) Azeri participants. Among Azeri participants, the prevalence of obesity was 49 (22.4) based on CDC cutoff and the prevalence of overweight was 65 (29.7) based on WHO cutoff. Among Kurd participants, the prevalence of obesity was 14 (10.7) based on CDC cutoff and the prevalence of overweight was 16 (12.2) based on WHO cutoff. The prevalence of both obesity and overweight was higher among Azeri participants than Kurd participants (P<0.05). The mean )SD) body mass index (BMI) and BMI-for-age z-score was 23.5 (4.5) Kg/m2 and 0.5 (1.3) among Azeri participants and 21.9 (4.2) Kg/m2 and 0.1 (1.2) Kurd participants, respectively. BMI and BMI for age z-score was significantly higher among Azeri than Kurd participants (P<0.05).

The study showed that prevalence of obesity based on CDC cutoff and prevalence of overweight based on WHO cutoff among Azeri participants was higher than Kurds. Furthermore, BMI and BMI-for-age z-score was higher among Azeri participants than Kurds.