PREVALENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN IN RABAT, MOROCCO

Résumé

There is limited information on the prevalence of obesity among Moroccan schoolchildren. The aims of this cross sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of childhood overweight /obesity, and identify their associated factors among schoolchildren in Rabat, Morocco. During the 2006- 2007 school year, 20 schools were selected using a random sampling of primary schools and all students in the relevant age range were included. Using measured height and weight, overweight and obesity status were defined based on the ITOF standards. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratio (OR) for overweight/ obesity. 778 schoolchildren were selected. Overall, 18.3% of schoolchildren were overweight and 5.3% were obese. After adjusting for age and sex, boys and schoolchildren with a mother who had more than a primary education level were more likely to be obese. Our results showed that overweight and obesity are problems in our sample of Moroccan children. Population based researches are need to document the extent of overweight/obesity among Moroccan children.