الفهرس 
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Abstract
Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The
prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from
6.5% in 1980 to 19.6%. In 2008 the prevalence of obesity in all age
groups has increased dramatically over the past 30 years, such that
overweight and obesity are considered to be a major public health
concern in many countries.
Fast food has become a prominent feature of the diet of children and it
is increasing throughout the world and obesity is considered now as one
of the important predisposing factors for many chronic diseases.
Excessive weight has been a problem in developed countries and recently
it started to be prevalent in developing world .The adverse medical and
psychosocial effects of obesity in children have been well-established.
Childhood obesity is also associated with the development of several risk
factors for heart disease, including hyperlipidemia, hyperinsulemia, and
hypertension, and other chronic diseases in adulthood. Finally, being
overweight as a child increases the likelihood of being overweight as an
adult.
Our study aimed at estimation of prevalence of obesity among primary
school children and study of the possible risk factors of the studied group.
The study was a case control nested in cross sectional study and
carried out on 306 children aged 6-12 years old, 48.4% of them were
males and 51.6% were females
Each child in the study was subjected to general examination after
taking personal data, anthropometric measurements were done for each
child including, weight, height and calculation of body mass index. TheResults showed that 19.6% of the subjects were obese and overweight
among of which 11.7%being class 1(overweight) , 43.3% class2 (obese)
and 45% class 3(obese) according to WHO reference 2007.
Females subjects were more obese (24.7%) than male subjects (14.2%),
older children (10-13 years) were more obese than younger children (6-
<10years) and children from urban area were more obese (22.1%) than
rural ones(11.3%).
Children from high income families were more risky for obesity
(22.4%) than other children (9.2%). Children with positive family history
were more risky for obesity (27.3%) than other (14.6%).
Regarding healthy and unhealthy food habits it was found that
children who eat fast food >3 times per week were more risky for obesity
(81.2%) than those who eat it <3 times per week (1.7%).
Children who play <2 hours per day were more risky for obesity
(34.6%) than those who play >2 hours (8.9%).
from this study it was recommended that there is an urgent need to
spread awareness about obesity, its consequences, ways and means of
prevention especially among young and their families, through promoting
healthy eating and physical activities.