DO THE DIETARY HABITS OF OUR COMMUNITY WARRANT HEALTH OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS NOW AND IN FUTURE? CASPIAN STUDY

Background: We performed this study considering the fact that many chronic diseases have their origin in early life, their risk factors in childhood and adulthood are identical, and an early primary prevention is of great importance. Methods: The present national survey was performed as a multi-centric cross-sectional study for the baseline survey of a project entitled: “Childhood & Adolescence Surveillance and PreventIon of Adult Non- communicable Diseases”: CASPIAN Study. The study was supported by the World Health Organization and performed by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, with collaboration of 23 universities of Medical Sciences. One of the items studied was the dietary habits in relating to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Results: 21111 school pupils aged 6 to 18 years consisting of 10858 girls (51.4%) and 10253 boys(48.6%), as well as one of their parents have been studied. 84.6% of them lived in urban and 15.4% in rural areas, 90% visited public and 10% private schools. The most frequent type of fat used for food preparation in home was hydrogenated solid fat (73.8%), and most families consumed bread prepared with white flour (58.4%), only 19.7% of pupils never added salt to their table foods. The mean consumption frequency of fruits and vegetables, sweets, salty/fat snacks and deep fried foods was 16.5, 10,4.9 and 3.98 times/week respectively, without significant difference between different school levels. Conclusion: The unhealthy dietary habits of the children and adolescents of our community are a major threat for the health of this age group and make our community prone to an epidemic of NCDs in the next two decades, and emphasizes the role of the pediatricians and other related health professionals in the primary prevention of chronic diseases.