A Nutritional Study on Weight Status among Urban Male High School Students and Its Related Determinants in Urmia, IRAN

Background and Objectives: Several studies have so far been carried out to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Iranian children but few studies have investigated the relationship between eating habits, socio-demographic differentials and obesity in these children. So, this study tried to assess the body weight status among the urban high school boy students of Urmia, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we measured weight, height and BMI of 1026 boy students with an age range of 15 to 19 years by multi-stage sampling. Then a questionnaire was completed based on their dietary habits and behaviors related to their physical activity. Overweight and obesity were defined based upon the World Health Organization&rsquo;s growth charts. Statistical analysis was fulfilled by estimating absolute and relative frequencies. Results: Underweight prevalence in the studied population was 9.84% (95% CI: 8.49%-10.72%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the studied students was 12.77% (95% CI: 11.89%-13.3%), and 5.07% (95% CI: 4.5%-5.9%), respectively. Factors significantly correlated with the participants' body weight were the frequency of energy dense foods intake during a week (P<0.001), duration of computer use per day (P<0.01), and the kind of their schools (P