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Background and Objectives: Reports indicate that hypovitaminosis D is extremely common worldwide and is re-emerging as a major health problem globally. In the present study, the main objectives were: 1) to examine whether healthy men and women living in Ahvaz have adequate vitamin D status; 2) to assess association between vitamin D status and some cardiometabolic risk factors.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which was part of the National Food and Nutrition Surveillance (NFNS). A total of 235 apparently healthy women and men aged 20-60 met the inclusion criteria from the city of Ahvaz (latitude 31.3^oN, 48.6^oE). Anthropometric measurements including weight and height were taken. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations and lipid profile including triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C were evaluated.
Results: Mean circulating 25(OH)D concentration was 25.4±12.7 nmol/L, with significant difference between men and women (p=0.015). Only 6 % of the participants had sufficient levels of vitamin D (25(OH)D ≥ 50 nmol/L). Results of logistic regression analyses after controlling for gender showed that subjects with hypovitaminosis D were almost 4.38 times more likely to be overweight/obese compared with subjects with vitamin D sufficiency (OR:4.38, p:0.011). There was no significant association between serum 25(OH)D concentration and the lipid profile components.
Conclusions: We found high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in apparently healthy adults in Ahvaz, a sunny city of Iran. Our findings suggest that high vitamin D concentrations among the adult population are associated with a substantial decrease in body mass index. However, there was no association with the lipid profile components.

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Background and Objectives: In Iran, childhood obesity is an emerging problem that the primary health care (PHC) system is not well equipped for yet. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the effect of a PHC-based behavioral management intervention to control overweight and obesity in children.
Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental community trial was performed on 200 overweight or obese 6-8 yr. old children, in 5 urban PHC centers (3 interventions and 2 controls) for 12 months. A convenient sampling frame was applied from elementary schools of districts 7 and 8 (as intervention and control groups, respectively) in the northeast of Tehran city, the capital of Iran. Mothers were trained on parenting style and healthy lifestyle behaviors through a 5-session training workshop. Anthropometrics (Weight, Height, Body Mass Index (BMI), and Waist Circumference (, as well as blood pressure of children were measured at the beginning, 3rd, 6^th, and 12^th months, thereafter. Physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and dietary habits of children were also assessed.
Results: Of the total, 20.8% (n=41) of children were overweight and 79.2 % (n=156) were obese. Compared with controls, the intervention group had smaller BMI-Z scores. The slope of BMI-Z score reduction was more impressive in the intervention group compared to the control group. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the intervention group was significantly lower compared to the control group in all three measurements. In the intervention group, a significant decrease in the frequency of fast-food consumption and sedentary behaviors time was observed (p-value= 0.022 and 0.055, respectively). There was no significant difference between the two groups in waist circumference, fruit, vegetable, and breakfast consumption, calorie intake, and physical activity at the end of the study.
Conclusions: The protocol of the study is being used as a basis for developing childhood obesity management programs within the health system in Iran.