The Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight and Its Relevance to Transportation Among Primary School Students: Yazd, Iran; 2015

background: the prevalence of overweight and obesity in all age groups, especially in childhood, has become alarming. identification, intervention, and prevention are important factors affecting it. objectives: the purpose of this study was to investigate the association the body mass index (bmi) in children and transportation to school in greater areas of yazd during 2014 - 2015. methods: this is an analytical cross-sectional study. it was conducted on 2000 primary school students between six to 13 years old who lived in the greater areas of yazd. data were collected using a validated questionnaire. anthropometrics were collected using standardized instruments. results: in this study, 2000 students were enrolled and 1700 students’ information aged between six to 13 years were recruited completely. about 42% of the participants were male. the mean ± sd age of students was 9.55 (± 1.9) years old. the frequency of normal weight was 56%, overweight was 10.9%, and obesity was 20.6. students who actively commuted to school had a lower bmi (p = 0.035). conclusions: the results of this study showed that the way students can travel could affect their bmi. the use of vehicle was higher in obese and overweight students.