Abstract

Alireza Masoumi, *Karim Zare and Erfan Kharazmi

ABSTRACT

Introduction: primary children are among vulnerable groups and their proper physical growth and health provide the ground for promotion of learning power and success. BMI is not only used for evaluation of children growth but also in addition to simplicity, inexpensiveness and reliability it is the most powerful tool for studying the growth trend and state of nutrition of children in different countries. The present study aims to determine BMI in primary children based on anthropometric indices and its relationship with socio-economical factors such as education level, parents’ occupation, number of children in the family. Method: this is a cross sectional, descriptive- analytic study conducted in 2015-2016. The height and weight of 305 children in primary schools of Fasa were chosen by random stratified sampling. The height, weight, and BMI were measured using BMI questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20, and tests of Chi square, independent T, Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression in significance level of P?0.05. Results: there is a significant relationship between variables of weight and age, between height and mother’s education and age, between BMI, mother’s job, and gender of students (P?0.05). There is a significant relationship between number of family members and height of students (P= 0.049). There is a significant relationship between height and socio-economical status of households (P= 0.034) but no significant relationship was found between variables of weight and BMI. It should be noted that the amount of height, weight, and BMI is lower in households with higher socio-economical status than other groups. Conclusion: results show that among socio-economical factors, education and parents’ job are two important factors that are effective on BMI and weight of students and social factors are more effective than economical factors on students’ growth.