BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MENTAL HEALTH, BUT IT HAD NO ASSOCI- ATION WITH SELF-ESTEEM IN IRANIAN GIRLS: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

DOAEI S^{1, 5,8}, MALMIR H², KALANTARI N³, MAJIDI N⁴, GHOLAMALIZADEH M⁵, SHAHVEGHARASL Z⁶, ELAHI R⁸

¹Natural Products and Medicinal Plants Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran - ²Faculty of Nutrition Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran - ³Department of public health nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran - ⁴Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran - ⁵Student Research Committee, Cancer Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. - ⁶Faculty of Nutrition Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran - ⁷Department of public health, Health school, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran - ⁸Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Shahrekord, Shahrekord, Iran

Introduction: Overweight and obesity are known as one of the major problems in girls’ physical and mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI) with mental health and self-esteem in Iranian girls.

Methods: In this case-control study, 160 girls (47 obese or overweight as the case group and 113 normal weight as the control group) aged 13 to 18 years old were recruited. Adolescents’ height and weight were measured according to international standards, and BMI was calculated. Mental health status and self-esteem were measured using the validated general health questionnaire (GHQ) and the Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire, respectively. Comparison of the variables was performed using chi-square test.

Results: The mean BMI in the case group was 26.73 Kg/m2 and in the control group was 20.13 Kg/m2. 78% of cases and 21% of controls had mental disorders which significantly differed from each other (P <0.001). Moreover, 31% of cases and 24% of con- trols had sufficient self-esteem. However, this difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Mental health disorders in obese girls were much higher than normal weight girls. However, there was not a sig- nificant association between obesity and self-esteem. It seems that obesity is not associated with the reduced self-esteem of Iranian girls. Further longitudinal studies with larger participants were required to achieve the psychological effects of obesity in Iranian girls.