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How Healthy are Children at the Beginning of Primary School in Iran?
Sara Emamgholipour1, Saeedeh Mirrezaei1
1Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Overweight and short stature are significant health concerns for primary school children in Iran. Provincial health disparities highlight the need for targeted interventions to address childhood growth issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
- Growth Monitoring
Background:
- Childhood development is critical for personality formation and societal well-being.
- Assessing the health status of children entering primary school is vital for early intervention.
- Parental factors significantly influence children's health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the health indices of primary school children in Iran.
- To identify prevalent growth-related health issues such as short stature, tall stature, underweight, overweight, and obesity.
- To explore parental influences on children's health.
Main Methods:
- An analytical descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted.
- Data were collected from 7768 primary school children (average age 7 years) and their parents.
- Data were gathered from Children Health Testing centers across all Iranian provinces during the 2016 school year.
Main Results:
- The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) for age ratio was 16.26 kg/m2.
- Prevalence of short stature was 4.9% in boys and 3.7% in girls; tall stature was 0.5% in boys and 1.8% in girls.
- Weight status: 5.3% of boys and 6.8% of girls were underweight; 9.2% of boys and 7.7% of girls were overweight; 4.7% of boys and 3.4% of girls were obese.
Conclusions:
- Overweight and severe short stature were more prevalent than underweight and severe tall stature.
- Underweight was more common in girls, while overweight and obesity were more prevalent in boys.
- Significant provincial variations in health problems necessitate localized strategies for child health improvement.
Background:
Childhood is the most important life stages where personality is built and formed. Since children are as a treasured capital for each society, assessment of their health status is so vital. This study assessed the health indices of children starting the primary school and considered parental factors influencing kid's health.
Methods:
An analytical descriptive cross-sectional study applied to measure the health status of children at the beginning primary school. The data extracted from 7768 primary school children with an average value of age 7 years and their parents, who were referred to Children Health Testing centers in the school year of 2016, in all provinces of Iran.
Results:
From 7768 kids, 52.3% were boys and 47.7% were girls. The mean of weight and height of children was 20.65 kg, and 115.84 cm, respectively. The mean body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) for age ratio of children in the country was 16.26. In addition, 4.9% of boys and 3.7% of girls were short stature, 0.5% of boys and 1.8% of girls were tall and 94.5% of kids had normal growth. About 5.3% of boys and 6.8% of girls were underweight, 9.2% of boys and 7.7% of girls were overweight, and 4.7% of boys and 3.4% of girls were obese.
Conclusions:
The overweight and severe short stature problems in children were more dominant than underweight and severe tall. Although underweight is more common in girls than boys, it is reversed in the case of overweight and obesity. In addition, the ratio of health problems among children in different provinces was dissimilar, thus considering the health status of children in each province to find a solution was crucial.
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