Estimating population attributable risk fraction of determinants of pediatric obesity

Abstract

ObjectivesChildhood obesity imposes a remarkable socio-economic and health-related burden, with an increasing worldwide trend. We aimed to assess the relationship between modifiable factors and obesity in Iranian children and adolescents along with to determine the population attributable risk fraction (PARF) for the risk factors of obesity in Iranian children and adolescents.MethodsThis is a nationwide cross-sectional study involving 14,400 school-aged students. In addition to physical examination, a self-administered questionnaire was completed to obtain the study variables including dietary behavior, physical activity, screen time, sleep duration, socioe-conomic status (SES), and passive smoking. Logistic regression models were applied to assess the relationship between modifiable risk factors and obesity. Population attributable risk fractions (PARFs) were used to estimate the prevalence of obesity if demonstrated modifiable risk factors would be removed.ResultsOf 14,400 recruited students, data on 12,153 subjects were analyzed in the current study. The mean (SD) age of participants was 12.3 (3.16) years, and 49.1 were female. Overall prevalence of obesity was 10.4. In total, 33.2 of obesity in Iranian children and adolescents might be attributed to unhealthy dietary habits, moderate or high familial SES, body shape dissatisfaction, and prolonged screen time.ConclusionsConsidering the inherent limitations of the cross-sectional studies, our findings suggest that a notable proportion of obesity in children and adolescents might be attributable to unhealthy dietary habits, prolonged screen time as well as higher family SES. These findings may provide insights for planning and optimizing future obesity intervention endeavors.