Prevalence of obesity and its associated factors in Iranian primary school children

Abstract EN

Objective : The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased dramatically in all countries in recent years.

The fact that obesity is associated with the increased risk of several disorders shows the importance of studying and monitoring obesity associated factors in children. Methods : A cross-sectional study of 300 children (150 obese and 150 non-obese) aged 7-12 years; comparing their blood Pressure ; cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), ferritin, hemoglobin and blood glucose. Results : The levels of HDL, ferritin, and blood glucose were normal in all children.

Hypertension (P < 0.001) and hypertriglyceridemia (P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the obese group.

However, there were no significant differences in LDL, cholesterol and hemoglobin levels between obese and non-obese children. Conclusions : This finding indicates that not only has the prevalence of obesity increased, but it is also more frequent in younger age groups compared to the previous studies in Iran.

These alarming findings could reflect the increasing trend of a sedentary life style and habits for early school age children.

Also, the popularity of fast food and unhealthy snacks among younger children could explain the differences between the recent study and the previous ones.