Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are being emerged as one of the most prevalent nutritional problems among children in developed and developing countries. To decrease the rate of them there is need to know more about effective factors.

Objective: This study aimed to determine association between energy and nutrients intake with overweight / obesity in male and female school children of Tehran.

Methods: A sample of 761 school students (378 from first graders & 383from grades 2nd to 5th) was randomly selected using a multistage cluster sampling method, from all 19 educational districts in Tehran. Weight and height of the children were measured and data on food consumption were also collected by a 24-hour recall. Overweight and obesity was evaluated using body mass index (BMI) centiles for age and sex. Obesity was defined as BMI > or =95th percentile and overweight was > or =85 to <95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI-for-age growth charts of CDC, 2000. Overweight and obese children were named ‘overweight’ versus other students who were named ‘normal’.

Results: Energy intake was positively correlated to fat intake and BMI of first graders (r=0.76, r=0.15, P<0.01; respectively). Energy was also positively correlated to fat intake and BMI of others (r=0.75, P<0.01 & r=0.10, P<0.05; respectively). Overweigh first graders had lower intake of calcium and higher intake of riboflavin (P<0.05). Other overweight schools had higher intake of fat (P<0.01). Male and female overweight first graders were not different in energy or nutrients intake but female overweight children of other grades had higher intake of energy (P<0.01). Rate of overweight was not significantly different in girls and boys.

Conclusion: This study confirms other data which indicate over consumption of energy and fat may contribute to childhood obesity. Energy intake seems to be unhealthy among girls in this study.