No abstract

Childhood obesity is associated with significant health problems in the age group and is also an important early risk factor for much of adult morbidity and mortality. It is a problem that is increasing. To asses the prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary school children (7-13 years of age) in Baghdad City a random sample of 5361 primary schoolchildren from different schools in Baghdad city was studied for obesity. Risk factors were assessed by a questionnaire specially prepared for this purpose then weight and height were measured for every child to obtain the BML Overweight and obesity were defined by adopting the cut-offs obtained from the WHO International Task Force on Obesity (ITOF). In this sample the prevalence of obesity was 4.1% and of overweight was 12.4%; the prevalence increasing with age in a significant linear correlation. The risk factors that significantly influenced the occurrence of obesity were gender; physical activity, parental obesity and family size. On the basis of this sample it is concluded that the prevalence of obesity in Baghdad is high compared to many other countries. This could be due to many contributing factors, the rapidly growing trend of sedentary life, incorrect nutritional education and habits, and the lack of exercise.