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Background and Objective: With changes in lifestyle, childhood overweight and obesity are most important health problems in both developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren in Ahvaz. Subjects and Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study 1,594 (52.38% male) healthy schoolchildren aged 6 to 10 in Ahvaz were assessed. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated for all. They were considered overweight and obese if BMI was >85 and >95 percentile respectively compared to standards. Results: 52.38% were male. Age distribution for 6 to 10 years old was 18, 21.3, 19.9, 20.2, and 20.5% respectively. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was 17.7 and 18.8%. Girls had greater risk to be overweight and obese compared to boys (21.74 vs. 16.17%; P=0.001, and 21.08 vs. 14.65 %, P=0.005 respectively). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that prevalence of overweight and obesity is noticeable, especially among girls. Near a hundred percent increase in both overweight and obesity in less than ten years is a warning. Intervention with education and change in habits and feeding behavior are mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To collect comprehensive information about the features of favic patients in Ahvaz (Capital of Khouzestan, Iran) and analyze the extent of the differences with their corresponding in other regions. Methods: A total of 103 patients with acute hemolysis admitted to pediatric division of Abouzar Hospital located in the city of Ahvaz, Iran during 21st of June 2008 to 20th of June 2009 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: 95.14% of the patients had favism while 4.86% of them underwent hemolysis due to other reasons. These patients were male (68.93%) and female children (31.06%) admitted mostly during the spring season. The three main symptoms were urine discoloration, jaundice and vomiting. At the admission time, the main hematologic findings were as follows: G6PD sufficient status (45.63%), G6PD deficient status (54.36%) and hemoglobin concentration: 2.5–11.8 (mean±SD: 6.45 ±2.12) g/dL. Conclusions: In conclusion, Ahvaz was determined as a black zone for favism in which the disease can be considered a life threatening health problem. Moreover, slight differences were observed in the three main symptoms compared with favic patients in other regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]