Prevalence of short stature, underweight, overweight, and obesity among school children in Jordan

Ayman A Zayed,Sohab S Radwan,Abdallah M Beano,Suhaib A Allauzy,Al-Motassem F Yousef,Zaid A Al-Dahabrah,Motasem M Alkhayyat,Yanal G Al-Hasan,Faris I Haddadin

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3687-4

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of short stature (SS) and underweight in Jordan on a national level is unknown. This study aimed to investigate, on a national level, the prevalence of short stature (SS), underweight, overweight, and obesity among school aged children in Jordan.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2015 to January 2016 and included 2702 subjects aged 6–17 years. Jordan was classified into 3 regions; North, Center (urban), and South (rural). Public and private schools were randomly selected from a random sample of cities from each region. The socioeconomic status of the sampling locations was assessed using several indicators including education, income, healthcare and housing conditions. For each participating subject, anthropometrics were obtained. SS, underweight, overweight and obesity were defined using Center of Disease Control’s (CDC) growth charts. Median Z-scores for each region, age and gender were calculated.ResultsThe Central and Northern regions enjoyed higher socioeconomic status compared to rural Southern regions. The overall prevalence of SS, underweight, overweight, and obesity were 4.9 %, 5.7 %, 17.3 %, and 15.7 %, respectively. SS and underweight were most prevalent in the rural South, while obesity was highest in the Central region. Females were more likely to be overweight, while males were more likely to be obese. Private schools had higher prevalence of obesity and overweight than public ones.ConclusionsVariations in height and weight among Jordanian school children might be affected by socioeconomic status.

Highlights

The prevalence of short stature (SS) and underweight in Jordan on a national level is unknown
AJordanian Departement of Statistics, http://web.dos.gov.jo/sectors/economic, 2013 bHousehold members were approximated to the closest 1000 cUniv. = Universities dHosp. = Hospitals eThe number of primary care hospitals were not included in the table fJDs = Jordanian Dinar gThe data of these towns include their surroundings hNo available data for these towns attended were significantly associated with different prevalence rates of obesity and overweight
In conclusion, this study outlined the differences in weight and height trends between genders and between different regions in Jordan

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of short stature (SS) and underweight in Jordan on a national level is unknown. This study aimed to investigate, on a national level, the prevalence of short stature (SS), underweight, overweight, and obesity among school aged children in Jordan. It is becoming increasingly apparent that different forms of childhood malnutrition, from short stature (SS) and underweight to overweight, are growing global health concerns affecting developed and developing countries alike [1, 2]. The rapidly growing prevalence rates of these conditions have prompted escalated concerns into finding effective solutions. Their danger is further accentuated by the myriad of detrimental effects they have on. The lowest prevalence of SS in Australia was 0 % in 1995 [9]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion