Correlation between obesity and overweight with attention deficit among elementary schools girls

The obesity and overweight in the children of many developing countries have dramatically increased. Obesity is associated with numerous health problems. While children spend a significant amount of their time in school daily, the various aspects of children school-life such as academic achievement, social skills and attendance, can be affected by obesity and overweight. This study was done to determine the correlation between obesity and overweight with attention dificit in elementary school girls. This descriptive-cross sectional study was carried out on 300 girls student of 7-11 years old, in elementary schools in capital city of east Azarbijan cocated North-West of Iran in 2007. The samples selected based on body mass index and were classified by random sampling in three groups including, normal group, overweight group and obese group. The data, collected by child behavior check list (CBCL). The CBCL have 113 iteams, 9 iteams of them were designed for determination of attention dificit in children. The behaviors were scored on a 3-point ranging scale. SPSS-11.5 software and ANOVA statistical test were used to analyse the data. The results showed that overweight group had greater scores in attention dificit scale than other groups and revealed a significant correlation between obesity-over weight and attention dificit (r=0.177, P<0.05). This study indicated a significant correlation between obesity and attention dificit. Prevention of obesity as a first step for prevention of behavioral problems, seems to be essentieal. The treatment of obesity may be a matter of dealing with behavioral problems in children.