Background: Obesity is a critical nutritional issue globally and particularly impacts children's health and well-being. This study investigates the prevalence of obesity and overweight among Iranian primary school students.
Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, a systematic search of online databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CIVILICA, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar) was conducted for related studies with no time limit up to February 2022 using relevant MeSH keywords. Two reviewers evaluated the quality of eligible studies and carried out the selection procedure.
Results: The prevalence of obesity and overweight in primary school children was 14.3% (range: 3.1-25.9%) and 18.8% (range: 5.5-32%), respectively, although these ranges seem to be incorrectly stated as they imply a maximum value equal to or less than the reported prevalence; typically, ranges should encompass the reported figure as a midpoint or minimum rather than maximum. Obesity and overweight were more prevalent in primary students from Semnan and less prevalent in students from Tabriz. Based on the results, there was a significant relationship between being overweight/obese in students and factors such as age, gender, birth weight, school type, snacking habits, walking time to school, family size, parental education level, father's occupation, parental obesity status, physical activity levels, and family income (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: This study reveals that obesity and overweight affect 14.3% and 18.8% of primary school students, respectively. Given these findings, implementing targeted educational interventions at both school and family levels is crucial to prevent and reduce the prevalence of obesity among children.