Obesity among university students, Tehran, Iran.

Evaluating the nutritional status of individuals and population groups is an important tool in public health and a feasible indicator of standards of living. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of obesity and present nutritional status of university students of Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. The survey was conducted between Oct 2004 and June 2005. The statistical population included all students from School of medicine, nursing and midwifery, health services, management, science, and rehabilitation. The method of sampling was multistage random. The sample size for the survey was 1,150 students. We used a self-administered 24h food recall questionnaire. We categorized BMI to two groups in bivariate analysis (BMI <25 kg m(-2) as obese and less than 25 kg m(-2) as non-obese). Mean BMI for all subjects was 21.7 +/- 2.9 kg m(-2). Almost 88% of the subjects were classified into a non-obese group (BMI <25 kg m(-2)). About 10% were underweight and 12.4% of the students had a BMI more than 25 kg m(-2). A significant difference was observed for BMI between males and females; 7.9% of males versus 22.5% of females had BMIs over 25. About 18% of students aged 23 years and over had BMIs over 25 versus 7.7% of students aged under 18. Intakes of fiber, pre-vitamin A, folacin and iron were significantly different between BMI groups. Intakes of these nutrients were higher in the obese students than the students with BMIs less than 25 kg m(-2). Our results indicate that about 12.4% of the students had a BMI more than 25 kg m(-2). There was a significant association between BMI, and smoking habits, age, sex, place of resident and having specific dietary regimen.