THE FREQUENCY OF OBESE, OVERWEIGHT AND UNDERWEIGHT ADOLESCENTS REFERRING TO THE DIETICIAN IN THE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH SERVICES CENTER OF SHIRAZ

Background and Aim: Nowadays, childhood obesity has become a common health problem worldwide, with a prevalence of about 17 percent. Childhood overweight and obesity may lead to adult obesity and its comorbidities. And the principle treatment of obesity is to focus on the changes in lifestyle, including dietary changes and physical activities. This study tried to investigate the prevalence of obese, overweight and underweight adolescents referring to the dietician and the effectiveness of offering them nutrition consultation.Methods: In this study, 92 adolescents were referred to a dietitian in the Comprehensive Health Services Center of Shiraz from family medicine centers. Their ages and reasons for referral were recorded in the health information system. They then received consultations on nutrition consumption. In addition, their BMI Z-score was recorded in each visit from the electronic medical record.Results: Out of 92 Adolescents, 29 (31.52%), 23 (25%), and 26 (28.26%) were referred to the dietician because of obesity, overweight, and thinness, respectively, and 14 (15.21%) had other nutritional disorders. All of the obese and overweight adolescents who were visited more than once, significantly recovered, and the weight status of the thin ones was improved by 97 %.Conclusion: Weight and nutrition status screening, as well as the recognition of adolescents, are very important issues. Furthermore, nutrition consulting is effective and has a significant role in the improvement of the body mass index.

کلیدواژه ها:

adolescent ، obesity ، overweight ، underweight ، nutrition consultation