Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among School-Age Children in Nablus City

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was carried out at Nablus city during the first term of school year 2008/2009 to estimate the prevalence of overweight/obesity among school children aged 6-12 years and to investigate the relationship between BMI (Body Mass Index) and socioeconomic status and life style factors. One thousand seven hundred and forty four students participated in this study. The researcher took the anthropometric measurement inside the class room and gave the questionnaire the students to be answered by one of child’s parents. The questionnaire was separated into two sections; first section included the type of school and the anthropometric measurement. The second section included questions related to socioeconomic status and life style (physical activity and eating habits). The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Version 15). In this study, prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 13.3% and 7.9% respectively among males, while it was13.6% and 4.9% respectively among females. Mother’s education, pocket money, number of carbonated beverages/week, way of transportation to school, length of daily playing outside the home, and parents’ BMI were significantly correlated with student’s BMI. While family monthly income, type of school, mother’s profession, number of quick meals/week, number of home cooked meals, breastfed during lactation period and watching T.V. were not having significant correlation with student’s BMI. This study is considered as the first study in its field regarding this age category in West Bank, and it is promoting future researches in obesity and its determinant.