Prevalence of obesity and overweight among children in Bandar Abbas

Introduction: Childhood obesity and overweight is a major public health problem in
developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of
overweight and obesity in 7-11 years-old children in Bandar Abbas.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 1350 students (689 girls and 661
boys) aged 7-11 years. The sample was collected by using cluster sampling technique.
Body weight and high were measured directly. Overweight and obesity were defined
based on the index for age and sex, respectively, as proposed by CDC in 2000. Other
demographic characteristics were collected by a questionnaire. The data were analysed
using SPSS software.
Results: The prevalence of overweight was 12.8% in girls and 10% in boys; while the
prevalence of obesity was 6.2% in girls and 10.9% in boys. Obesity was significantly
associated with sex, father's job, parents' education and school type (P<0.05). There was
not a significant relationship between overweight and mother's job, birth rank and living
location in the city.
Conclusion: According to our study, preventing strategies are suggested to control the
overweight, obesity and subsequent consequences.