Prevalence and Risk Factors of Obesity and Overweight among Primary School Children in Yazd

Obesity and overweight are one of the health problems in developed and developing countries that are increasing every day. The purpose of this study was to asses the prevalence of obesity and overweight and their risk factors among preschool children in Yazd. In a descriptive cross sectional study 400 preschool aged 6 years, including 200 boys and 200 girls were selected via random sampling method from among health assessment clinics and evaluated for obesity and overweight and their risk factors in 2005-2006. BMI for age and sex was based on standardized percentile curves for BMI (NHNESIII accepted by WHO). Obesity was defined as BMI >95th and overweigh as BMI in 85-95th percentile. The data of the research was collected through complied questionnaire by interviewing parents and then analyzed and evaluated using SPSS: 11.5 software. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 3.8% and 4.3%, respectively. Frequency of obesity and overweight was approximately 5.5% and 5% in boys and 2%, 3.5% in girls, respectively. Obesity and overweight had a significant statistical relationship with physical activity, amount of television viewing and consumption of fast food and soda, but no statistically significant relationships were seen with sex, birth order and parental educational levels. In this study, prevalence of obesity and overweight was lower than other similar studies, but obesity risk factors should be considered during decision making on preventive measures.