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.