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Introduction: Among the risk factors for coronary artery disease, less attention has been paid to physical activity, especially in children and adolescents. Various studies have shown that their level of physical activity is lower than the standard for maintaining lower health. In this study, the pattern of physical activity of children and adolescents in the central regions of Iran is examined.
Method: In this descriptive study, which is part of the first phase of the Isfahan Healthy Heart Project and was conducted in 2002, awareness of the attitude and performance of 4,000 urban and rural children and adolescents in preschool to high school in Isfahan (Isfahan, Najafabad) and Markazi (Arak city) and the parents of these students and 500 teachers and school officials have been examined about physical activity and the duration of watching TV through a questionnaire. Sampling was selected in the form of a random cluster and in proportion to the urban and rural population living in the two provinces. Data were analyzed with SPSS software and p<0.05 were considered significant.
Results: About 40 percent of middle and high school students in the two provinces practiced regular sports at school less than two hours a week. Regular morning exercise and school sports were more common in girls than boys (p<0.00001), but regular extracurricular exercise and sports team membership were more common in boys (P<0.001). More than 77 percent of parents were unaware of the importance of childhood exercise in their children's health. The average TV viewing time for children of different ages was 4 hours a day.
Conclusion: The level of physical activity of middle and high school students in the central regions of Iran is less than the desired level and the duration of watching TV is more than the recommended values.

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Introduction: Stress  is  a  condition  that  causes  tension, disturbance  in  body  and  mind , discomfort  and  unpleasant  status.  Adolescents  are  the  most  susceptible  group  of  the  community, a  susceptibility  which  intensifies  with  age  and  kind  of  stressful  events  that  happened  during  life. In  this  study  we  intend  to  find  types  of  stressors  and  their  severity  in  central  area  of  Iran.
Materials  and Methods: This  is  a  descriptive  study  carried  out  on  2000  students between  12-18  years  from  urban  and  rural  selected  school  of  Isfahan, Arak  and  Najaf  Abad  in  1381 (2002) as  a  part  of  an  annual  report  on  healthy  heart  assessment   program.  Sampling  methods  was  randomized  clustering, and  after  collecting  data  based  on  GHQ12 (generalized  health  questionaire)  data  was  analyzed  by  mean, standard  deviation  and  chi-square  based  on  SPSS  version  software.
Results: Of  the  total  subjects  under  9360 (51.2%)  were  males, and 887 (48.8%)  were  female, with  a  mean  age  of  15/97±1/90, 15/52±2/20  respectively.  In  general, the  proportion  of  female  students  with  high  GHQ  score  was  higher  than  male  students. 38.8%  against  32.7%. The  score  was  higher  in  Arak  than the  other  two  cities.  The  most  common  stressful  item  was  concern  for  a  future  career, which  was  also  the  most  effective  life  event, and  next  to  it  was  the  parental  death.
Conclusion: The  severity  of  stress  in  female  students  of  central  area  of  Iran  was  higher  than male, with  a  direct  positive  correlation  with  age, moreover, the  most  common  stressful  item was  concern  for  a  career  and  the  most  effective  life  event  was  also  the  same, and  next  to  it  was  the  parental  death.    
 

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Background: Hirsutism in women is identified as the increasing growth of terminal hair in areas of skin that are sensitive to androgen. The most common causes of hirsutism are PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and idiopathic hirsutism. The role of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia as the most important pathogenesis mechanism of PCO is quite obvious, but there is not enough information on the role of insulin resistance in idiopathic hirsutism. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 16 to 40 year old women. Medical history and physical examination were completed for patients with PCOS and idiopathic hirsutism. Hormonal tests and sonography were run for both groups and insulin resistance was assessed using HOMA-IR formula. Data were analyzed using SPSS version. 17. Results: Mean of serum insulin levels in PCOS and idiopathic hirsutism groups were 16.04±1.4 and 7.32±6.85 µIu/ml, respectively (P<0.001). HOMA-IR values in PCOS and idiopathic hirsutism groups were 3.7± 3.36 and 1.67±1.75, respectively (P< 0.001). Mean of serum DHEA-S levels in PCOS and idiopathic hirsutism groups were 2.48±1 and 1.84±0.46 pg/ml, respectively (P< 0.001). These findings indicated a significant difference between the two groups. However, in terms of serum glucose, testosterone, androstendione, and follicular hormones levels, there were not any significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion: In both PCOS and idiopathic groups, there was a significant relationship between hirsutism and insulin resistance. This relationship, however, was more significant the PCOS group

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Background: Different studies have shown that vitamin D may play a functional role in insulin secretion and sensitivity. This study evaluates the effect of vitamin D on insulin resistance. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was done on 100 patients with type II diabetes mellitus that aged 30-70 years. The patients were randomly selected and different examinations were done on them. They received 50000 units of oral vitamin D daily for four weeks. Insulin resistance was measured before and after the intervention. Data analysis was done by paired t-test and Wilcoxon test using SPSS software version 17. Results: The participants consisted of 70 women and 30 men. Mean vitamin D was 43.03±19.28 ng/ml and 24% of the participants were vitamin D deficient based on the cut-off 25(OH) D <20 ng/ml. At the beginning and the end of the study, the mean levels for FPG, insulin, HOMA-IR were 138.48±36.74 and 131.02±39 mg/dl (P=0.05), 10.76±9.46 and 8.6±8.25 µIu/ml (P= 0.02), and 3.57±3.18 and 2.89±3.28 (P= 0.008), respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that vitamin D causes significant improvements in FPG, insulin, and insulin resistance, that was evaluated by HOMA-IR. It was also indicated that adding vitamin D supplements can improve glucose control in type II diabetes mellitus.