Obesity among Iranian Adolescent Girls: Location of Residence and Parental Obesity

Abstract

This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity by location of residence among randomly-selected 2,577 urban school girls aged 12–17 years in Rasht, Iran. Data on age, frequency of skipping breakfast per week, physical activity, hours of television viewing, self-perception about body condition, and home address were collected. Birthweight of the girls, educational levels of parents, weights and heights of parents, and employment status of mothers were asked to the parents using a self-administrated questionnaire. The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity in this population was 18.6% and 5.9% respectively. Overweight or obesity was more common among girls from low-income areas compared to high-income areas (21.6% vs 17.1%, p<0.001). Maternal education was positively related to overweight/obesity of the girls. Results of logistic regression analysis showed that risk of overweight/obesity was higher in girls whose either parent was overweight or obese. Furthermore, living in low-income areas and skipping breakfast were independently related to overweight/obesity. These data suggest that overweight and obesity are a public-health concern among school girls, especially in low-income areas in Rasht. Knowing risk factors in population subgroups is important for planners in the country because it helps target interventions.

Excesso de peso em adolescentes e estado nutricional dos pais: uma revisão sistemática

“…The majority of the studies were carried out in the United States 21,22 , Greece 18,19 and Brazil 8,23 and all were published in the period between 2004 and 2013 8,18,19,[21][22][23][24] . The sample sizes ranged from 914 23 to 9571 22 individuals and, of the studies selected, two are prospective cohort studies 18,21 , while all the others are cross-sectional studies 8,19,[22][23][24] .…”

“…The sample sizes ranged from 914 23 to 9571 22 individuals and, of the studies selected, two are prospective cohort studies 18,21 , while all the others are cross-sectional studies 8,19,[22][23][24] . The studies included members of both sexes in similar proportions, with the exception of one which was carried out in Iran and involved only female adolescents (Chart 1) 25 .…”

“…All the studies showed that the presence of overweight or obesity in the father or mother increases the risk of adolescents developing excess adiposity 8,18,19,[21][22][23][24] and that this risk is still greater when both parents are overweight 8,18,22 . In the prospective cohort study carried out in Greece, the adolescents were found to have a five-fold greater risk of being obese when both parents were obese, when compared with children of eutrophic parents (Chart 3) 18 .…”

“…Perinatal, behavioral, biological and socioeconomic factors were significantly associated with a greater risk of excess weight in adolescents and these include: excess of pre-gestational weight; smoking during pregnancy; rapid weight gain during childhood 8 ; skipping meals 24 ; male sex 8,18,19,[21][22][23] ; overweight in parents 8,18,19,[21][22][23][24] ; black parents 21 ; living in low income areas 24 ; low level of schooling of parnets 8,21,23 ; and lower family income 21,22 .…”

“…Included multivariate analysis that was most commonly used to check for an association between nutritional status of adolescents and their parents and to calculate the risk of this event was logistical regression 18,[22][23][24] . The dependent variable in the studies was overweight and/or obesity in adolescents, and the independent variable was excess adiposity in parents.…”