International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research  |  e-ISSN: 2582-8940  |  Double-Blind Peer Review  |  Open Access  |  CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Current Issues
     2026:7/4

International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research

e-ISSN: 2582-8940 | Open Access

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Obesity from six to 16-year-old Children

Suror H Aneed

Lecturer, Pediatric Nursing Department, University of Thi- Qar, Iraq

Article Information

Volume / Issue6 / 4 (October-December 2025)
Pages58-63
AccessOpen Access

Publication Timeline

  • Received22 August 2025
  • Accepted23 September 2025
  • Published

Full Text (PDF)

Open Access - Free to Download

Download Full Article (PDF) JATS XML

Abstract

Background: Excessive fat accumulation that endangers one's health is what is meant by obesity and overweight. If a child's BMI falls within the 85th percentile or below the 95th percentile, they are considered overweight; if it falls within the 95th percentile or above, they are considered obese.
Aim: sought to determine the prevalence of childhood obesity and risk factors related to it in a population aged six to sixteen.
Participants and methods: In this comprehensive study, 50 samples of 6-16 - years of children were selected in public schools in the city of Nasiriya. The current search began from (4 April 2024) to (18 July 2024). 
Results: The vast majority of the sample consists of children, especially those between the ages of 12 and 16. With regard to gender, the majority of children in the sample were female. At the place of residence, the population sample contains the highest proportion of the urban population. Out of all the siblings in the family, the majority belong to the group of two to four family members. The BMI level was significantly correlated with the number of siblings in the family (p < 0.003), the mother's educational level (P 0.004), and the father's educational level (P 0.005). Additionally, the correlation between the BMI level and the children's sociodemographic characteristics and other factors that may influence obesity was also evaluated.
Conclusion: The risk factors for obesity are outlined number of main meals per day indicated a substantial association with obesity. physical exercise revealed an important relationship between physical activity and obesity. connection between the amount of time spent sleeping and obesity. 
Recommendations: In addition, parents have a responsibility to provide wholesome foods in the home and to promote physical activity by limiting their kids' recreational computer, video game, and television time to less than two hours per day.

Keywords

ObesityOverweightObesity in Children

References

  1. Kumar S, Mahabalaraju D, Anuroopa M. Prevalence of obesity and its influencing factor among affluent school children of Davangere city. Indian J Commun Med. 2012;32:15. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  2. World Health Organization. Population-based Prevention Strategies for Childhood Obesity. Report of the WHO Forum and Technical Meeting. 2012. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  3. Wang Y, Lobstein T. Worldwide trends in childhood overweight and obesity. Int J Pediatr. 2015;1:11-25. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  4. Wiecha J, Gortmaker SL, Sobol A, Peterson K. Why youth watch so much television. Presented at Meet. Ambulatory Pediatr Assoc. Boston, MA; 2011. Vol 8, No 21, pp 129-234. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  5. Nazarov Z, Rendall MS. Differences by mother’s education in the effect of childcare on child obesity. RAND Working Paper Series No. WR-890. 2011. Available from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1979708 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1979708 [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  6. Birch LL, Fisher JO. Development of eating behaviours among children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2012;101:539-49. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  7. Czernichow S, Kengne AP, Stamatakis E, et al. Body mass index, waist circumference and waist-hip ratio: which is the better discriminator of cardiovascular disease mortality risk?: evidence from an individual-participant meta-analysis of 82 864 participants from nine cohort studies. Obes Rev. 2011;12(9):680-7. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  8. World Health Organization. Population-based Prevention Strategies for Childhood Obesity. Report of the WHO Forum and Technical Meeting. 2017. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  9. Schwimmer JB, Burwinkle TM, Varni JW. Health-related quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents. JAMA. 2013;289:1813-9. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  10. Banerji MA, Faridi N, Atluri R, Chaiken RL, Lebovitz HE. Body composition, visceral fat, leptin, and insulin resistance in Asian Indian men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018;84:137-44. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  11. Moens E, Braet C, Bosmans G, Rosseel Y. Unfavourable family characteristics and their associations with childhood obesity: A cross-sectional study. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2012;17:315-23. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  12. Dabelea D. The Predisposition to Obesity and Diabetes in Offspring of Diabetic Mothers. Diabetes Care. 2009;30 Suppl 2:S169-74. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  13. Nicklas TA, Baranowski T, Cullen KW, Berenson G. Eating patterns, dietary quality and obesity. J Am Coll Nutr. 2014;20(6):599-608. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  14. Kapil U, Bhadoria AS. Television viewing and overweight and obesity amongst children. Biomed J. 2014;37:337-8. Available from: [Last accessed on 2014 Jul 11]. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  15. Counterweight Project Team. Evaluation of Counterweight programme for obesity management in primary care: a starting point for continuous improvement. Br J Gen Pract. 2018;58:548-54. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  16. Poirier P, Eckel RH. Obesity and cardiovascular disease. Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2017;4:448-53. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  17. Chapman G, Maclean H. “Junk food” and “healthy food”: Meanings of food in adolescent women's culture. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2013;25:108-13. [Google Scholar][Crossref]
  18. Kambondo G, Sartorius B. Risk Factors for Obesity and Overfat among Primary School Children in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. J Pediatr Health Sci. 2018;23(6):123-345. [Google Scholar][Crossref]

How to Cite

Aneed, S. H. (2025). Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Obesity from six to 16-year-old Children. International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research, 6(4), 58-63.

Aneed, Suror H. "Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Obesity from six to 16-year-old Children." International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research, vol. 6, no. 4, 2025, pp. 58-63.

Aneed, S. H. (2025) 'Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Obesity from six to 16-year-old Children', International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research, 6(4), pp. 58-63.

Aneed SH. Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Obesity from six to 16-year-old Children. International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research. 2025;6(4):58-63.

Similar Articles

Share

Find this Article on

Google Scholar Semantic Scholar OpenAlex ResearchGate BASE

A newly published article may take a few days to appear on these services.