Background: The main aim of this study was to evaluate whether prevalence of obesity in educational
levels is different and some related factors in Iranian northern adults.
Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study based on population and 2452 cases
(1224 men and 1228 women) aged 15e65 years were chosen by cluster and stratify sampling. Subjects
were randomly chosen from 125 clusters and each cluster included 20 cases. Interviewers recorded the
data using a multidimensional questionnaire including socio-demographic indexes.
Results: As a whole, the prevalence of obesity was seen in 24% of subjects (15.5% in male and 32.5% in
female) and significantly was seen in 3.1% and 14.1% of uneducated people more than in 1e9 year
schooling and in high school or college-educated people, respectively (P ¼ 0.001). The risk of obesity was
2.294 (P ¼ 0.001) in uneducated compared to high school or college-educated people, 1.668 (P ¼ 0.001)
in urban area compared to rural area, 2.619 (P ¼ 0.001) in 40e65 year people compared to 15e40 year
people, and 1.534 (P ¼ 0.003) in good economic compared to poor economic groups. After adjusted for
location area, gender, age, and economic stats, the risk of obesity was 2.044 (P ¼ 0.001) in uneducated
people compared to high school or college-educated subjects.
Conclusion: The obesity as a health problem in Iranian northern adults supported in this study and it was
negatively associated with educational levels. Public health programs that aim to reduce obesity should
primarily focus on the illiterate and low-educated people