Determination of Factors Related to Obesity and Overweight Among Students in Ilam

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Marziyeh Mansoori Jalilian: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Ali Khorshidi: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Jafar Bazyar: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Hamid Safarpour: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Kourosh Sayehmiri: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Ali Delpisheh: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Parviz Tahmasbi: [PubMed] [Scholar]
Zhila Shademan: [PubMed] [Scholar]

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Determination of Factors Related to Obesity and Overweight Among Students in Ilam

Marziyeh Mansoori Jalilian ¹ ,
Ali Khorshidi ² ,
Jafar Bazyar ³ ,
Hamid Safarpour ⁴ ,
Kourosh Sayehmiri ^{5 , *} ,
Ali Delpisheh ⁶ ,
Parviz Tahmasbi ⁷ and
Zhila Shademan ⁸

Authors Information

¹ Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

² Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

³ Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

⁴ Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

⁵ Department of Biostatistics, Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

⁶ Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

⁷ Department of Nursing, Mostafa Khomeini Hospital, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

⁸ Department of Public Health, Ilam Health Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, IR Iran

Article information

Biotechnology and Health Sciences: August 2017, 4 (2); e57643
Published Online: May 31, 2017
Article Type: Research Article
Received: January 3, 2017
Revised: March 11, 2017
Accepted: April 15, 2017
DOI: 10.5812/bhs.57643

To Cite: Mansoori Jalilian M, Khorshidi A, Bazyar J, Safarpour H, Sayehmiri K, et al. Determination of Factors Related to Obesity and Overweight Among Students in Ilam, Biotech Health Sci. 2017 ;4(2):e57643. doi: 10.5812/bhs.57643.

Abstract

Results: A sample of 576 students including 371 (64.4%) girls and 202 (35.6%) boys was investigated. In general, 112 (19.5%) students were obese or overweight. The average body mass index (BMI) for boys and girls was 16.35 Â± 2.9 and 17.28 Â± 9.8, respectively. Most dental caries was in the age group of 7 years (1.8). The 11-year-old age group had the highest average BMI. There was a statistically significant relationship between dental caries and BMI of the students (P = 0.012). Also, there was a statistically significant association between the height and the weight of the students and education level of the parents (P = 0.001). Furthermore, a statistically significant association was observed between mother’s job and the height and the weight of the students (P = 0.001). Whereas, there was no statistically significant relationship between father’s job and the height, weight, BMI, and dental caries of the students.

Copyright: Copyright Â© 2017, Biotechnology and Health Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Background

Nowadays, obesity and overweight are considered to be a serious challenge for the global health system. Obesity is a complicated disease with various causes that leads to the accumulation of a great amount of fat in the body and the disruption in the balance between the energy received and consumed (1). Obesity and overweight increase the chance of chronic and metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, blood pressure, and gall bladder disease in adults (2, 3). Recent studies have shown that obesity is ranked as the third factor for living a lifetime with disability (4). Childhood obesity is a complicated health problem and it is also a crucial index for adulthood obesity. 80% of obese children will be obese in adulthood, as well (5, 6). Today, 43 million children are obese or overweight of which, 35 million live in developing countries (7). During the last 30 years in America, obesity has increased in children and adolescents for two and three times, respectively (8). Recent studies have also indicated that 8.1% of infants and 16.9% of teenagers in America are obese in the age of 2 to 19 years (9). In the UK, obesity has increased rapidly over the last decade and has become an epidemic problem (10). The low literacy rate of parents has been proposed as a risk factor for obesity of the students (1). In a study carried out in India, most students with dental caries were among the groups of obese students (11).

Iran is one of the 7 countries with the highest prevalence of childhood obesity (12). Also, overweight has increased in Iranian children during the past 15 years (13). A study conducted in Iran has reported the prevalence of obesity in children aged 7 to 11 to be 5.5% – 8.5% (14). Childhood obesity is affected by environment and heredity. Of course, the role of environmental factors is more impressive than the role of heredity (6, 7). Considering the fact that no single extensive research has been conducted in the city of Ilam regarding the abovementioned issue, the current study aimed to identify the association between some demographic indices and obesity of students.

2. Objectives

3. Methods

Among the 50 elementary schools in Ilam, 7 schools were selected randomly from different parts of the city. All screening examinations were performed on the first and the fifth grade students in the 7 schools in that year. The students meeting the inclusion criteria were enrolled. This study was conducted through a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical method. The sample was selected by multi-stage clustering among the students in grades one and five of elementary schools in Ilam. Students having genetic obesity, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, hypothyroidism, and epilepsy were excluded from the study. The required data were collected under medical supervision by trained experts of public health centers during screening examinations. The weight of the students was measured with minimal clothing and no shoes using a weighing scale (SECA Germany) with accuracy of 100 g. Also, the height of the students was measured using a standard gauge with accuracy of 10 cm while standing right and looking at the front side. Dental examination of the students was conducted by a trained person in charge of dental hygiene. Other data related to education, employment, and parental divorce were gathered through interviews with students and a thorough review of medical history. The values of weight (kg) and height squared (m) were employed to calculate body mass index (BMI) using the related formula. The growth standards of the world health organization were interpreted in terms of age, sex, and BMI, as follows:

BMI < 5th percentile for age: underweight

Percentile 5 â¤ BMI < 85th percentile: normal

Percentile 85 â¤ BMI < 95th percentile: overweight

Percentile BMI > 95: Obese

After revising, restructuring, and preparing, the data were entered into the SPSS version 20 software. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, Chi-square test, and analysis of variance.

4. Results

The data gathered from 576 students were analyzed. 371 students (64.40%) were female and 202 (35.06%) were male. In general, 443 (76.9%) had normal BMI, 36 (6.3%) were obese, 76 (13.2%) were overweight, and 21 (3.6%) were underweight. The average BMI values were 16.35 Â± 2.9 and 17.28 Â± 9.8 for boys and girls, respectively. The average height of the girls and the boys was 127.9 Â± 16.60 cm and 128 Â± 15.80 cm, respectively. The average weight of the girls and the boys was 27.9 Â± 11.5 kg and 28.7 Â± 12.50 kg, respectively. 6.4% of the girls and 1.5% of the boys were obese, while 4.3% of the girls and 2.5% of the boys were underweight. The 11-year old age group had the highest average BMI. The most dental caries was observed in the 7-year age group (1.8) and the lowest in 11-year age group (1.4). The average BMI of the students whose fathers had a fixed salary was the lowest and that of the students whose fathers were employed in the private sector was the highest. Most fathers had a university degree accounting for 193 cases (33.5%) while most mothers had a high school degree accounting for 188 cases (32.6%).

A statistically significant relationship was achieved between height, dental caries, weight, and BMI of the students and the age of the students (P = 0.001). Furthermore, a statistically significant association was observed between dental caries and BMI (P = 0.012).

The relationship of the height and the weight of the students with mother’s job was statistically significant (P = 0.001). The lowest mean height was recorded among the students whose mothers were retired and pension earners, while the highest mean height was attributed to the students whose mothers were housewives or were employed in the private sector. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between dental caries and BMI of the students and mother’s job. This study showed that there is a significant correlation between the height and the weight of the students and mother’s education level (P = 0.001). Thus, in students whose mothers were illiterate, the mean height and weight were higher. Based on the results, the relationship between dental caries and BMI and maternal education was not statistically significant (Table 1).

Table 1. Distribution of the Studied Variables Among Students in Terms of Mothers’ Education Level

Demographic Index	Mothers’ Education	Frequency	Mean	Reliability Distance 95%		P Value
				Lower Bound	Upper Bound
Height	Illiterate	15	135.87	127.42	144.32	0.001
	Elementary	49	128.61	123.88	133.34
	Secondary	61	125.45	121.35	129.55
	High School	187	130. 51	128.09	132.93
	Diploma	65	119.57	117.00	122.14
	Higher Diploma	57	130.77	126.09	135.45
	MA and higher degrees	139	127.58	124.86	130.30
	Total	573	128.02	126.68	129.36
Dental caries	Illiterate	15	1.40	25.797	39.110	01178
	Elementary	49	1.86	25.455	32.227
	Secondary	61	1.60	23.241	28.703
	High School	187	1.64	28.203	31.790
	Diploma	65	1.66	20.284	24.052
	Higher Diploma	57	1.67	26.398	33.219
	MA and higher degrees	139	1.57	26.453	30.042
	Total	573	1.64	27.252	29.153
Weight	Illiterate	15	45 .32	15.0983	18.6350	0.001
	Elementary	48	28.84	15.6185	17.5315
	Secondary	60	25.97	15.0371	16.5496
	High School	187	29.99	16.3462	17.3319
	Diploma	65	22.16	13.0915	21.3238
	Higher Diploma	57	29.80	15.7128	17.4872
	MA and higher degrees	138	28.24	16.2190	17.0911
	Total	570	28.20	16.1625	17.1996

This study revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between father’s education and the student’s height and weight (P = 0.001). The average BMI of the students whose fathers were illiterate was higher compared to the other groups of students. However, the father’s education and student dental caries and BMI did not show a statistically significant relationship. Fathers’ occupation did not show any statistically significant relationship with height, weight, BMI, and dental caries of the students. No statistically significant relationship was found between height, weight, and BMI and gender of the students. Also, no statistically significant relationship was found between height, dental caries, weight, and BMI of the students and having divorced parents. A bi-variable variance analysis was used to determine the relationship among age, gender, and BMI. The effect of age (P = 0.001) and the effect of gender were both significant (P = 0.05). The mean difference of the two variables was identical in terms of BMI, implying that the relationship is not significant (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Distribution of the Effects of Age and Gender on BMI of the Students

5. Discussion

More than 19% of the students were obese or overweight. Most fathers had a university degree accounting for 193 cases (33.5%) and most mothers had a high school degree accounting for 188 cases (32.6%). The highest level of dental caries was observed in the 7-year age group (1.8) and the lowest in the 11-year age group (1.4). The height and the weight of the students and parents’ education had also a statistically significant relationship. A significant relationship was found between mother’s job and the height and the weight of the students. However, no statistically significant association was found between father’s occupation and height, weight, dental caries, and BMI of the students.

In this study, 19.9% of girls and 14% of boys were obese or overweight. In a study in 2012 conducted by Kelishadi et al. in 27 provinces of Iran, 15.5% of girls and 19.9% of boys were obese or overweight, that is not in accordance with the results of the current study. This can be attributed to the larger sample size in that study (15). Furthermore, the prevalence of obesity was higher in girls than boys in this study, which may be due to specific cultural conditions and lower mobility of girls compared to boys. In a study conducted in Italy by Lazzeri et al. in 2014, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher in boys than girls, which is not in line with this study (16).

A statistically significant relationship was observed between parental education level and the weight of the students. Parents with lower education had students with higher height and more weight. In a study conducted in Poland by Krzyanowska et al. in 2010, a statistically significant association was found between average height and parental education level, which was in line with the present study (17). In a study conducted in Germany by Lamerz et al. in 2005, a statistically significant association was obtained between parental education and obesity in children, which is consistent with the present study (18).

In addition, parents’ education level and the student’s BMI did not show a statistically significant relationship. Of course, Ramezankhani et al. in 2013 carried out a study in Tehran showing that no statistically significant relationship exists between BMI and parents’ education level, which is consistent with the current study (6). In a study conducted by Lempert et al. in 2014, a statistically significant association was achieved between BMI and education level of mothers, which was in agreement with the present study (19).

A statistically significant association was found between mother’s occupation and the weight of the students. However, in a study carried out by Cawley and Liu in 2012, a statistically significant association was observed between mother’s occupation and overweight in children, which was in line with this study (20). In a study conducted in Bandar Abbas by Asadi Noghabi in 2011, no statistically significant association was found between mother’s occupation and obesity in children. On the other hand, a significant relationship was observed between father’s occupation and child obesity that was not consistent with the present study (21). In a study conducted in Bushehr by Mohammad Pour Kaldeh in 2012, a statistically significant relationship was found between father’s occupation and child obesity, which is not consistent with the present study (5).

The age group of 7-year-old children had the highest average of dental caries. This result may be due to the lack of hygienic conditions of milk teeth. In a study conducted in Kerman by Shafiee Bafti et al. in 2015, dental caries increased with age, which was not in line with this study (13).

In the present study, no statistically significant relationship was found between having divorced parents and obesity in student. In a study conducted by Lena Hohwu in Denmark in 2015, it was indicated that the risk of obesity and overweight was 2.29 times higher in children whose parents had lived separately before their birth, compared to children whose parents had lived together (22).

This study was limited to data collected during screening examinations. Therefore, the current study was flawed because its data were not collected for research purposes. It is suggested to carry out research in the form of case study.

5.1. Conclusions

Policy making and implementation of dental hygiene programs can prevent dental caries among students and also raise awareness among parents with less than high school education and retired women. They can play an important role in balancing the height and the weight of elementary students.

Acknowledgements

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Biotechnology and Health Sciences

Determination of Factors Related to Obesity and Overweight Among Students in Ilam

Article information

Abstract

1. Background

2. Objectives

3. Methods

4. Results

5. Discussion

Acknowledgements

References

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