الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6%. In 2008 the prevalence of obesity in all age groups has increased dramatically over the past 30 years, such that overweight and obesity are considered to be a major public health concern in many countries. Fast food has become a prominent feature of the diet of children and it is increasing throughout the world and obesity is considered now as one of the important predisposing factors for many chronic diseases. Excessive weight has been a problem in developed countries and recently it started to be prevalent in developing world .The adverse medical and psychosocial effects of obesity in children have been well-established. Childhood obesity is also associated with the development of several risk factors for heart disease, including hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulemia, and hypertension, and other chronic diseases in adulthood. Finally, being overweight as a child increases the likelihood of being overweight as an adult. Our study aimed at estimation of prevalence of obesity among primary school children and study of the possible risk factors of the studied group. The study was a case control nested in cross sectional study and carried out on 306 children aged 6-12 years old, 48.4% of them were males and 51.6% were females Each child in the study was subjected to general examination after taking personal data, anthropometric measurements were done for each child including, weight, height and calculation of body mass index. TheResults showed that 19.6% of the subjects were obese and overweight among of which 11.7%being class 1(overweight) , 43.3% class2 (obese) and 45% class 3(obese) according to WHO reference 2007. Females subjects were more obese (24.7%) than male subjects (14.2%), older children (10-13 years) were more obese than younger children (6- <10years) and children from urban area were more obese (22.1%) than rural ones(11.3%). Children from high income families were more risky for obesity (22.4%) than other children (9.2%). Children with positive family history were more risky for obesity (27.3%) than other (14.6%). Regarding healthy and unhealthy food habits it was found that children who eat fast food >3 times per week were more risky for obesity (81.2%) than those who eat it <3 times per week (1.7%). Children who play <2 hours per day were more risky for obesity (34.6%) than those who play >2 hours (8.9%). from this study it was recommended that there is an urgent need to spread awareness about obesity, its consequences, ways and means of prevention especially among young and their families, through promoting healthy eating and physical activities. |