Publication:

Survey of anthropometric indices among medical university girls in Ardabil, Iran, 2017

Background Evaluation anthropometric used as a clinical instrument for design and determine the health policy in community. This study aimed to investigate the anthropometric indices in medical university students in Ardabil.

Methods In this cross-sectional study height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured. BMI was used to assess the overweight and obesity and WHR was used for central obesity. Data analyzed by statistical methods in SPSS.19.

Results The mean age of students was 20.4±1.3 years. 28% of students were in age 20. According to BMI, 7% of all students had overweight and 1.5% had obesity. According to the WHR, 78 (39%) had central obesity (WHR >0.8) which were in unhealthy high-risk group.

Conclusions Results showed that the rate of overweight and obesity in medical university girls in Ardabil was lower than many studies in country. So, programming for rising their knowledge about obesity related factors and increasing their physical activity and modify feeding behavior is essential in future.