Evaluation of Prevalence Obesity and Its Association with Physical Activity Levels in Javanroud Girls Students with 7-12 Years Old

Background: In recent  years, obesity has become s worldwide phenomenon, Alongside the increase in theprevalence of obesity in the world, overweight and obesity in children is undergoing a rise.The aim of this study was to assess obesity and its association with physical activity levels of 7-12 year-old femal students in Javanroud

Methods: A sample of 335 girls from 2316 elementary students were randomly selected. Height, weight, age, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and triceps and calf skinfold thickness were measured. To determine the level of physical activity, the Baecke questionnaire was used. For analyzing the data, Pierson correlation coefficient (P≤0.05) was used.

Results: The findings showed that the prevalence of obesity and overweight were 4.77 and 7.76%, respectively. Also a negative moderate correlation between the overweight and physical activity level (r=-0.44, p=0.04) and significantly a negative high correlation between the obesity and physical activity level (r=-0.73, p= 0.005) were revealed. Moreover, a significantly poor negative correlation between the WHR (r=-0.35) (p<0.001), fat percentage (r=-0.32) (p<0.001) and physical activity level were observed.

Conclusions: The present study showed significantly poor and moderate correlations between overweight, obesity, WHR and body fat percentage with physical activity levels. Therefore, it can be concluded that inactivity can be among the causes of overweight and obesity in children.