title: Prevalence of abdominal obesity in adolescents 2012, birjand, East of iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prevalence of obesity in children has been increased during recent decades all over the world. Obesity, particularly, abdominal obesity (AO) is associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to assess obesity and central obesity within students aged 11-18 of Birjand city.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional and descriptive- analytical study was conducted on 2458 secondary and high school students, including 1345 girls (54.8%) and 1113 boys (45.2%), who had been selected from Birjand Middle and high schools through multiple-cluster sampling in 2012. For determination of AO, waist circumference and the percentage 90 or more regarding age and sex were used. The obtained data were analyzed by using statistical t-tests and χ(2) at the significant level P < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the studied students, average 16.3% (20% of boys and 13.2% of girls) had AO. The obtained data about these two groups shows statistical significant difference of P < 0.001. Chance of AO in boys was 1.6 times greater than that of girls. Odds ratio (OR) = 1.6 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.3-2.1). It was 1.9 times more about under 15-year-old than over 15 aged subjects. OR = 1.9 (CI: 1.5-2.4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Regarding high prevalence of AO in Birjand adolescents, it is recommended that adolescents and their families should be warned for long-term outcomes of obesity on quality-of-life. Periodic studies are suggested for awareness of obesity trends in the coming years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Tayebeh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chahkandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Toba
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Kokab
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Namakin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zardast
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bijari
keywords: Abdominal obesity; Birjand; Iran; adolescent; obesity