Aim of the study was to design BMI (Body Mass Index) charts to the studied group, to determine the
prevalence of overweight and obesity in the group and to provide suitable recommendations for prevention
overweight and obesity. Methods: This was a cross sectional study that included 500 students collected from
primary and preparatory schools, aged 7-15 years and living in El-Qalubia governorate through the academic year
2010/2011. A self administered questionnaire was used; it included some socio-demographic characteristics and
measurements for weight and height of students. Data was collected, revised and entered using the statistical
package SPSS. Results: Obese students represented 20.4% of students. Obesity increased in younger students with
mean age 9.33±2.094 years and increased in male students (55% of all obese students), while overweight increased
in female students (54.5% of all overweight students). Female students recorded higher values over males in weight
during the first 5 years of age (7-11 years old) then, boys become heavier than girls. Moreover, there was a gradual
increase in height of female and male students at age 7-15 years old. In addition, the current study indicated that
female students have the higher values of BMI from age 7 to 15 years old than males.
[Ahmed Mahmoud Ezzat, Mahmoud Fawzy EL Gendy, Doaa Refaey Soliman, Ashraf Hassan Mohammed and Hazem Salem
Abdel Azeem Abou Ghazy. Body Mass Index as an Assessment Tool for Overweight and Obesity in School Children in El-
Qalubia Governorate. Journal of American Science 2011;7(8):240-250]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience.org. |
