The Relationship between the Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight Lifestyle among Female students aged 7 to 12 in Yasuj, Iran

• Main Authors: P Panahpuri, M Moghadasi
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Yasuj University Of Medical Sciences 2016-10-01
• Series: Armaghane Danesh Bimonthly Journal
• Subjects: Body mass index; Obesity; Overweight; Girls students; Lifestyle; Exercise
• Online Access: http://armaghanj.yums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-548-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Abstract Background & aim: The prevalence of obesity and overweight in the female students aged 7 to 12 in Yasuj is not well known. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the association among lifestyle status with obesity and overweight prevalence in girl students aged 7 to 12 in Yasuj. Methods: The present cross-sectional descriptive study was ran on 352 (girls) students aged 7-12 years old. The subjects were selected via a step-wise random sampling. Height and weight of the subjects were measured by standard methods and body mass index (BMI). Overweight and obesity were defined on the 85th and 95th percentiles of BMI for age and sex as proposed by Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Lifestyle status and family conditions were collected by a standard Baecke questionnaire. Correlations between the variables were determined by the Spearman correlation. Results: The prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight in 7-12 years old students were 6.5%, 22.1% and 13.3% respectively. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between BMI with parent&rsquo;s BMI in 7 years old students, a significant relationship between BMI with daily commute to school in 8 years old students, a significant relationship between BMI with fast foods and chips consumption pattern in 9 years old students, a significant relationship between BMI with father&rsquo;s educational levels, fathers&rsquo; BMI and time spend for exercise in 10 years old students, significant relationship between BMI with father&rsquo;s educational levels, fathers&rsquo; BMI, watching TV, fast foods, cola and chips consumption pattern and time spend for exercise in 11 years old students and significant relationship between BMI with fathers&rsquo; BMI and watching TV in 12 years old students (P<0.05). Generally, there were inverse relationships between BMI with time spend for exercise and positive relationship between BMI with fast foods consumption pattern and father&rsquo;s BMI (P<0.05). On the other hand, no significant relationship was observed between BMI with daily commute to school, rank of birth, number of families, parent&rsquo;s educational levels, mother&rsquo;s BMI and sitting activities. Conclusion: the results of the study showed that the consumption of fast foods and engaging in physical activity and body mass index is the main factors in determining of school girls aged 7 to 12 years in Yasuj. Thus, the need for greater mobility and improve nutritional patterns are emphasized.