Prevalence, socio-demographic and behavior determinants of childhood obesity in Babol, the north of Iran

Bakground and Objective:Childhood obesity has become a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. This study was aimed to assess the pattern of obesity and overweight and their relationship with demographic and life style related factors among school children aged 7-12 years in the north of Iran.

Methods and Material: We conducted a cross sectional study of 1000 sample of primary school children in urban area in Babol, the north of Iran in 2006. A cluster sampling techniques of 20 schools was carried out. The data of weight and height were measured with standard method and the data of sport physical activities and leisure time physical activities were collected with a standard Baecke questionnaire. The logistic regression model was used to determine the age adjusted odds ratio of the factors associated with the risk of overweight and obesity.Results: The overall rates of obesity and overweight were 5.8% and 12.3% respectively. The risk of obesity and overweight were decreased significantly among female compared with male (age adjusted OR=0.69, 95% CI: 0.50 -0.96) and the risk tends to increase after aged 8 years but it was not reached at significant level. Among educated father at level of high school or higher, the risk tended to increase insignificantly. By increasing the family size, the odds ratio was significantly decreased and also the odds ratio was significantly higher among private school children compared with public school (age adjusted OR=2.17, P<0.0001). For each additional score of leisure time physical activity, the age adjusted OR significantly decreased (OR=0.73; CI: 0.56, 0.96).
Conclusion: The findings indicate the early stage of epidemiologic transition of health problem toward increasing childhood overweight in school children. Thus, urgent preventive strategies are required to control the future risk of related comorbidities.