OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AMONG PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN BASRAH

Abstract

ABSTRACTA cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the frequency of overweight and obesity among infants andchildren aged 6-60 months in Basrah, and its association with different socio-demographic factors, dietary habits andphysical activity of the child. Five-hundred fifty infants and children aged 6-60 months (283 males and 267 females)attending five primary health care centers in Basrah city during the period from November 2006 till the end of April2007 were recruited. The frequency of overweight was 10.5% and for obesity 3.3% as calculated by weight for heightZ-score for all children of different age groups. For children older than 2 years, the frequency of overweight was 7.6%and of obesity 3.6% using Body Mass Index. The study has revealed that there is a significant positive associationbetween father's education, age, weight at birth, and the number of hours of television watching with overweight andobesity, while there was significant negative association between the duration of breastfeeding andoverweight/obesity. Although the prevalence of wasting is still high (11.1%) in Basrah, at the same time anotherpublic health problem (obesity) emerges. There is a highly significant protective effect of breastfeeding againstdevelopment of obesity if feeding continues for > 6 months.