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Prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity among public primary school students in AL-Nasiriya city at 2018-2019.

Ghada Mansoor Abood*, Roua Hameed Kadhem, Jabbar Badr Mohan

Background: Childhood obesity is a serious public health issues worldwide in the 21st century and the prevalence has been increasing in all countries. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among primary school students in AL-Nasiriya city and their correlation with the eating habits, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted on 357 (177 girls and 180 boys) sample of pupils aged 6-12 years selected randomly from students who attended public primary schools during the period from1st of December 2018 to the end of May 2019 in AL-Nasiriya city. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was measured and used as indicator for overweight/obesity. Results: The overall prevalence of obesity and overweight among primary school children in ALNasiriya city was 28% (17.9% were obese and 10.1% were overweight). A significant positive association between excessive body weight and snacks No./day (p-value=0.004, odd ratio=3.112), and fruits intake (p-value=0.014, odd ratio=2.767) was found in this study. While, there was a significant negative association of student's BMI with the physical activities (p-value=0.049, odd ratio=0.566). Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is relatively high among primary school students in AL-Nasiriya city. Preventive approaches by the families and the schools should be considered. Keywords: Overweight,