A Study of Food Consumption Patterns of and Obesity in Female Adolescents in Khorramshahr High Schools

Background: One consequence of an industrial age is overweight and obesity. The accelerating rate of obesity, especially in adolescent girls, has led to growing concern regarding the health of this generation. Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the food consumption patterns of and obesity in female adolescents in Khorramshahr high schools. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 200 high school girls from Khorramshahr. The study sample was selected via multistage random sampling. Body weight and height were measured and the body mass index (BMI) values were calculated. Underweight, overweight, and obesity were defined as the 5th, 85th, and 95th percentiles, respectively, using the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) BMI-for-age growth charts for girls. More data were collected by using the Food frequency questionnaire. Analysis was done using the SPSS software, Kruskal-Wallis test, and median measures. Results: Findings showed that according to their BMI, 3% of the students were underweight, 82% had normal weight, 11% were overweight, and 4% were obese. There were significant relationships between the consumption of bread, dough, and sugar cubes and the BMI (P < 0.05). The highest bread consumption was among overweight students (min 90, max 360, mean 180 palms per month). In addition, students with normal weight had the highest consumption of rice and sugar cubes (160 plates and 360 cubes per month, respectively). Conclusions: The findings of this study offer information regarding the current dietary patterns among adolescent girls that can be used to design educational programs to promote healthy eating in this group.