Evaluation of screen time activities and their relationship with physical activity, overweight and socioeconomic status in children 10-12 years of age in Sanandaj, Iran: A cross-sectional study in 2015

Background: Screen time (ST), including watching television and playing electronic games are the leading cause of a growing obesity epidemic. This study aimed to evaluate ST and its association with physical activity, overweight and socioeconomic status (SES) in children 10 to 12 years of age in Sanandaj. Methods: This study was designed as a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in Sanandaj in 2015. ST and physical activity data were collected using the Modifiable Activity Questionnaire (MAQ). Overweight indices are defined based on BMI age- and gender-specific percentiles, as proposed by WHO criteria. Considering household assets data, SES was calculated using principal component analysis (PCA). The relationship between ST and different determinants was assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: Based on the results obtained in our study, 47.28 (95 CI: 45.33-49.24) of the participants spent more than two hours a day on television and video watching and electronic games playing. People who spend greater time on ST activities, independent of their physical activities, are more susceptible to overweight and obesity (p=0.002). People in higher socioeconomic groups spent more time on watching TV and video and playing electronic games (p=0.001). There was a direct relationship between the residential area and ST (P=0.052). ST in male was found to be greater (p=0.033). In addition, ST was also lower in school-aged children whose mothers had a greater education (p=0.56). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is recommended to increase the education level and knowledge of mothers and design interventions consistent with children gender and residential location so that to reduce ST and its associated outcomes in children

Attitudes of medical instructors and students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences towards Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) system

Introduction: Recently, there has been a shift of emphasis from teaching to creating an interactive and student-oriented atmosphere in education.  One of the method in creating student oriented atmosphere is Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), in which students play the role of teachers , assistant, and enhance other students’ learning. Regarding numerous benefits of this system, the present study aimed to survey the attitudes of teachers and students at Medical School of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences on Peer Assisted Learning.   Methods: Following a literature review, the researchers designed a questionnaire about benefits of peer assisted learning, and the stages of its content validity. Pilot study and reliability were followed. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS 16.   Results: The obtained results showed that an absolute maximum of the participants agreed with the potential benefits of performing the proposed system. Data analysis showed that students have significantly more agreement with PAL compare to the teacher-oriented method.   Conclusion: Regarding the obtained results, we concluded that teachers and students agreed with the benefits and application of PAL. Implementation of this active learning system would lead in productive and capable work force