حمید سوری - دانشکده پزشکی، دانشگاه علوم پزشکی و خدمات بهداشتی درمانی اهواز

To study behavioural factors associated with eating more and less healthy diets, to investigate the distribution of body mass index (BMI), and to measure the extent of which variation in dietary behaviour is explained by population, a cross-sectional self-report questionnaire survey was carried out in Ahwaz-Iran. A composite dientary behaviour score derived from a 24 item food frequency questionnaire , divided into 2 groups: hgose above and those below the median value (86) to signify more and less healthy eaters. Subjects were 1600 heads of the households who were randomly selected from about 150.000 native households in the city of Ahwaz. Some economical and demographic factors were assiciated with dietary behaviour. Being older and lower economic position were associated with less healthy diets (P<0.001). The pattern of body mass index (BMI) also showed a significant pattern of greater obesity in females compared to males (36.6% vs. 11.9%, P<0.001), and in older generations (P<0.001), though this tend appears to reserve at over 65 year olds. In conclusion, educational policy and economic interventions to promote healthier eating should be targeted at the less healyhy eater. Such interventions need to be based thorough assessment and efficiency. Further research in needed to explore the factors that determine access to a healthy diet in developing communities.