Background and Objectives: Due to the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity among rural children, despite the high prevalence of underweight, identification of dietary patterns and their association with weight status can provide valuable information about health of children. This study was conducted to detect major dietary patterns and their relationship with weight status in school age children in rural areas of Bijar, Iran

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 255 rural school age children living in the rural areas of Bijar were selected by simple random sampling. Dietary intakes during the past year were examined by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Assessment of anthropometric indicators, physical activity, and socioeconomic information was performed by standard methods. Dietary patterns were determined using factor analysis, and their relation to weight status of children was investigated.

Results: Three major dietary patterns, "traditional", "modern" and "mixed" were identified. There was no significant adjusted relationship between overweight or obese and identified dietary patterns. After adjustment for age and physical activity, individuals in the highest quartile of the traditional dietary pattern score were more likely to be overweight or obese (OR = 4.33, CI 95%: 1.14 -16.46). More adherence to modern dietary pattern resulted in a significant increase in the odds ratio of severe thinness and thinness (P for trend = 0.04).

Conclusion: Modern and mixed dietary patterns next to the traditional dietary pattern can be found among rural children. While following the traditional dietary pattern probably due to higher energy is associated with an increased risk of obesity, modern dietary pattern leads to thinness in rural areas.

Keywords: Dietary pattern, Rural, Children, Weight status