en Epidemiology Original Article <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span arial="" style="font-family:">Background: </span></b><span arial="" style="font-family:">Obesity has many side effects and deadly risks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school closures have been affecting the lifestyle of students worldwide. This study aims to assess changes in the BMI and some physical parameters among students before and one year after the COVID-19 pandemic in Rafsanjan City, Iran.</span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span arial="" style="font-family:">Materials and Methods:</span></b><span arial="" style="font-family:"> In this descriptive study, the sample included 793 high school students (422 males and 371 females) within the age range of 11 to 19. The sampling method was multistage clustering. Accordingly, we compared pre-pandemic data on the BMI and the circumference of the waist, hip, neck, and wrist with the data collected one year after the COVID-19 pandemic.</span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span arial="" style="font-family:">Results:</span></b><span arial="" style="font-family:"> Our findings demonstrated that the BMI and the circumference of the waist, hip, and wrist were significantly higher in males one year after the outbreak of the disease. However, except for the neck circumference, a comparison of other variables before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in females showed no significant difference. Moreover, the results showed that the average BMI of all participants, regardless of their gender, increased significantly from 20.55 to 22.00 kg/m2.</span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span courier="" new="" style="font-family:"><span style="color:black"><b><span arial="" style="font-family:">Conclusion:</span></b><span arial="" style="font-family:"> The data obtained from this survey would serve as an important evidence necessitating future planning for controlling overweight and obesity in order to reduce the probability of chronic diseases incidence in future. . Additionally, it is recommended that more comprehensive studies and extracurricular physical activity programs be designed to counteract the negative effects of sedentary behavior. </span></span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp; COVID-19,Lockdown,BMI,Waist Circumference,Obesity,Lifestyle, 259 264 http://johe.rums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-514-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Mohammad Mohsen Taghavi taghavi164@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011424 22400319475328460011424 No Associate Prof., Dept. of Anatomical Sciences, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Parvin Khalili parvinkhalili61@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011425 22400319475328460011425 No Assistant Prof., Dept. of Epidemiology, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Ahmad Shabanizadeh shabani54@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011426 22400319475328460011426 No Associate Prof., Dept. of Anatomical Sciences, Immunology of Infectious Disease Research Center, Research Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Zahra Taghipour taghipourz@yahoo.com 22400319475328460011427 22400319475328460011427 No Associate Prof., Dept. of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Samereh Dehghani-Soltani samereh.dehghani@gmail.com 22400319475328460011428 22400319475328460011428 No Assistant Prof., Dept. of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Fatemeh Pouya 22400319475328460011429 22400319475328460011429 No Lecturer, Dept of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Abdolreza Babaee babaee.ab@gmail.com 22400319475328460011430 22400319475328460011430 Yes Assistant Prof., Dept. of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences