تحقیقات نظام سلامت (Jan 2022)

Prevalence of Obesity in the First Grade Primary School Children in Mehriz, Iran, based on Different References of Body Mass Index

  • Farahnaz Haeri,
  • Seyyed Payam Shariatpanahi,
  • Marzieh Kafeshani

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 4
pp. 269 – 274

Abstract

Read online

Background: Obesity is a metabolic disorder that has become an epidemic today, and its prevalence in various age groups, including children, has increased in recent decades. Obesity in children can be diagnosed using Iranian, World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) references. Since environmental and racial factors can influence the anthropometric indices, the body mass index (BMI) can also be different in various societies. Therefore, this study aims to determine the prevalence of obesity in children entering primary schools in Mehriz, Iran, and compare it with different BMI references. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was done on 1209 children entering primary schools of Mehriz City. The gender, weight, and height were recorded and then the students' BMI was calculated. The determination of obesity as a percentile above 95 was examined based on four reference sources: Iranian, WHO, CDC, and IOTF. Another questionnaire was also completed to examine some factors. Findings: According to the findings of this study, the prevalence of obesity in children entering primary schools in Mehriz City based on four references of CDC, WHO, IOTF, and Iranian was 6.2%, 6.9%, 3.8%, and 6.9%, respectively. Comparison of prevalence based on different references showed that the WHO and CDC indices agreed with the Iranian reference. But the agreement of the IOTF index was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity in children entering primary schools in Mehriz City according to Iranian and WHO references was completely equal and other references estimated the prevalence of obesity as different rates. Because obesity has a very complex relationship with environmental, genetic, cultural, and lifestyle factors, it is recommended that each country use the national BMI reference or WHO reference to determine obesity.

Keywords