Level of activity, social and school competency in obese and overweight girls of elementary schools in Tabriz city

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children has dramatically increased in many developing countries. Childhood obesity affects various aspects of life, including academic achievement, social skills, quality of life and social competency. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of activity, school and social competency in obese and overweight children of elementary girls’ schools in Tabriz city. This research is a comparative-cross sectional study. The sample was 300 students (7-11 years old) of girls elementary schools in Tabriz city, selected based on educational class grade and Body Mass Index (BMI) by random sampling in three groups including normal, overwieght and obese groups. Data were collected by Child Behavior Check List that has a 20 iteams for assessing the activity, school and social competency of children in home, school and society. Data was analyzed by SPSS –Pc (version 11.5). The results showed that normal group had greater scores on activity, social, school and total competence than overweight and obese groups, it means that normal group had a favorite level of competency than others groups. The results proposed reverse correlation between BMI and school and total competency (P<0.05). Howeve, BMI had not significant correlation with activity and social competency. The findings of this study indicated reversed correlation between BMI, school and total competency. So, prevention of obesity can prevent or decrease children's competency problems.