Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescent Tehrani students, 2000-2001: an epidemic health problem. Public health nutrition. [Public Health Nutr] Journal article | | Title | Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescent Tehrani students, 2000-2001: an epidemic health problem. | | Author(s) | Mohammadpour-Ahranjani B, Rashidi A, Karandish M, Eshraghian MR, Kalantari N | | Institution | Department of Nutrition Research, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, PO Box 19395-4741, Tehran, Iran. B.Mohammadpour@nnftri.ac.ir | | Source | Public Health Nutr 2004 Aug; 7(5):645-8. | | MeSH | Adolescent
Adolescent Nutrition
Body Height
Body Mass Index
Body Weight
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disease Outbreaks
Female
Humans
Iran
Male
Obesity
Odds Ratio
Prevalence
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Sex Factors
| | Abstract | OBJECTIVE: Overweight has become a public health problem in most developing countries. Evidence suggests that adolescence is a critical period in determining adulthood obesity and its complications. The present study was carried out to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among secondary school students.
DESIGN AND SETTING: This descriptive study was conducted in Tehran city, 2000-2001. Body weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) values were calculated. Underweight, overweight and obesity were defined as <5th, > or = 85th and > or = 95th percentile, respectively, of age- and sex-specific BMI values from the National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2000).
SUBJECTS: Using a multistage sampling method, 2321 students (1068 males and 1253 females) aged 11-16 years were assessed in Tehran, the capital city of Iran.
RESULTS: The overall prevalences of overweight and obesity were 21.1 and 7.8%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight among girl students (i.e. 23.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 20.8-25.4) was significantly higher than that among boys (i.e. 18.8%; 95% CI 16.5-21.1, P=0.01) even after adjustment for age (odds ratio 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.55, P=0.02). No significant risk of obesity associated with age was found in girls or boys. In both sexes, median values of age-specific BMI in this study were statistically higher than corresponding values collected in Tehrani adolescents 10 years ago (P=0.03). Similarly, a significant difference was seen between girl students in this study and the reference population (P=0.03).
CONCLUSION: According to this study, overweight, especially in girls, should be considered an epidemic health problem among adolescent students in Tehran. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 15251055 |
|
|
| |
Advertise on this site.
| | |
|
