Journal of School of Public Health and

The increasing prevalence of adult obesity, and its individual as well as public consequences has always been a major concern for nutrition and health specialists. The last decade has also witnessed a sharp rise in childhood obesity rates worldwide. There is little reliable information on childhood obesity rates in Iran, hence the need for prevalence studies in different parts of this country. These studies are complicated by a paucity of baseline (reference) data on obesity in Iranian children. This study aims to determine the prevalence of obesity in Ahwaz primary school pupils by using three different sets of baseline values, namely IOTF, CDC and local data from Iran. Using two-stage cluster sampling, a total of 3482 students aged 6-12y (1843 boys & 1639 girls) were randomly selected from Ahwaz primary schools. Weight and height were measured and BMI calculated. Obesity was defined as having a BMI ≥ 95th percentile of each of the three sets of reference values. Prevalence rates according to Iranian reference data, CDC 2000, and IOTF 2000 were %10/9, %5/2, and %3/6 respectively. Obesity is quite common among school children in Ahwaz and further studies are required to determine risk factors. In addition, different reference data produce different prevalence estimates.