The prevalence of obesity in singapore primary school children

The purpose of this study is to survey the prevalence of obesity in Singapore primary school children from 1976 to 1980. The number of children screened comprised of 221,988 in primary I and 218,104 in primary VI. The male to female ratio was 1.04:1. Obesity is defined as body weight above 120% of Harvard standard weight for height. The overall prevalence rate was 3.51% with a significantly higher rate in boys (3.95%) than in girls (3.06%), p less than 0.0001. This sex difference prevailed in both the primary I and primary VI group. Furthermore, primary VI students had a higher prevalence rate (4.29%) compared to the primary I students (2.75%) p less than 0.0001. The prevalence rates were rising over the years with a rate of 5.33% in 1980 compared to that in 1976 (1.80%). Our observations suggest that the problem of obesity is an increasing one. The tendency to become obese increases with age and boys are more prone to obesity.     

The prevalence of obesity in Singapore primary school children

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to survey the prevalence of obesity in Singapore primary school children from 1976 to 1980. The number of children screened comprised of 221,988 in primary I and 218,104 in primary VI. The male to female ratio was 1.04:1. Obesity is defined as body weight above 120% of Harvard standard weight for height. The overall prevalence rate was 3.51% with a significantly higher rate in boys (3.95%) than in girls (3.06%), p < 0.0001. This sex difference prevailed in both the primary I and primary VI group. Furthermore, primary VI students had a higher prevalence rate (4.29%) compared to the primary I students (2.75%) p < 0.0001. The prevalence rates were rising over the years with a rate of 5.33% in 1980 compared to that in 1976 (1.80%). Our observations suggest that the problem of obesity is an increasing one. The tendency to become obese increases with age and boys are more prone to obesity.     

Overweight and obesity in Norwegian children: prevalence and socio‐demographic risk factors

Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity and to identify socio‐demographic risk factors in Norwegian children. Methods: The body mass index of 6386 children aged 2–19 years was compared with the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut‐off values to estimate the prevalence of overweight including obesity (OWOB) and obesity (OB). The effect of socio‐demographic factors on this prevalence was analysed using multiple ordinal logistic regression analysis in a subsample of 3793 children. Results: The overall prevalence of OWOB was 13.8% (13.2% in boys and 14.5% in girls, p = 0.146), but the prevalence was higher in primary school children aged 6–11 years (17%, p < 0.001). The risk of being OWOB or OB increased in children with fever siblings (p = 0.003) and with lower parental educational level (p = 0.001). There was no association with parental employment status, single‐parent families or origin. Conclusion: The prevalence of OWOB and OB in Norwegian primary school children is of concern. Socio‐demographic factors have pronounced effects on the current prevalence of overweight and obesity in a cohort of Norwegian children. This knowledge could help to work out strategies to reduce the burden of overweight and obesity in children.     

Overweight, obesity, weight-related concerns and behaviours in Hong Kong Chinese children and adolescents

Aim: To study the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and weight-related concerns and behaviours among overweight, obese and non-overweight children and adolescents. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional survey of all Chinese students in primary schools in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong in March 2002. Thirty-one of 32 schools participated, and 5402 boys and 5371 girls aged 8 to 15 y who completed a standardized questionnaire were included. We used the International Obesity Task Force definition (IOTF reference) to define overweight and obesity. Results: The prevalence (95% CI) of overweight was 16.4% (15.7-17.1%) (19.9% in boys, 12.9% in girls), and that of obesity was 7.7% (7.2-8.2%) (10.3% in boys and 5.1% in girls). The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was similar to that based on the local reference. Overweight children had more concerns about their weight than obese children. They were more likely than obese children to feel fat, wish to be lighter, diet and exercise to lose weight. Although obese children were heavier, they did not make more effort to lose weight than overweight children.

Conclusions: The differences in weight-related concerns and behaviours among overweight, obese and non-overweight children suggested good validity of the IOTF reference and the self-reported data. The differences between overweight and obese children suggested that the two groups had different psychological states and that they needed different weight management programmes and other intervention strategies.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children and adolescents in Chennai

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Chennai, India, using national and international age- and sex- specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points.

Methods

The Obesity Reduction and Awareness and Screening of Non communicable diseases through Group Education in Children and Adolescents (ORANGE) project is a cross-sectional study carried out on 18,955 children (age 6–11 years) and adolescents (age 12–17 years) across 51 schools (31 private and 20 government) of Chennai. Overweight and obesity was classified by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF 2000) and Khadilkar’s criteria (2012), and Hypertension by the IDF criteria (in children ≥10 years and adolescents).

Results

The prevalence of overweight/obesity was significantly higher in private compared to government schools both by the IOTF criteria [private schools: 21.4%, government schools: 3.6%, (OR: 7.4, 95% CI:6.3–8.6; P<0.001) and by Khadilkar criteria (private school: 26.4%, government schools: 4.6% OR: 6.9, 95% CI:6.2–7.8; P<0.001). Overweight/obesity was higher among girls (IOTF: 18%, Khadilkar: 21.3%) compared to boys (IOTF: 16.2%, Khadilkar: 20.7%) and higher among adolescents (IOTF: 18.1%, Khadilkar: 21.2%) compared to children (IOTF: 15.5%, Khadilkar: 20.7%). Prevalence of hypertension was 20.4% among obese/overweight and 5.2% among non-obese (OR 4.7, 95%CI: 4.2–5.3, P<0.001).

Conclusion

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among private schools in Chennai, and hypertension is also common.     

Declining prevalence rates for overweight and obesity in German children starting school

To estimate the development of prevalence rates for overweight and obesity in children starting school in Germany, data for children’s height and weight out of the compulsory school enrolment examinations (SEE), conducted annually in every German federal state, were available. A former analysis of these data showed a marked increase of prevalence of overweight and obesity until 2004. The aim of this project was to give an updated overview on the development of prevalence rates for overweight and obesity in children upon school entry by including recent data until 2008. Data on measured height and weight from the yearly conducted SEE were obtained from all 16 German federal states. Overweight and obesity were defined by BMI > 90th and BMI > 97th age- and gender-related percentiles of German reference values, respectively. In 2008, the prevalence for overweight varied from 8.4% in Saxony to 11.9% in Bremen and Thuringia. The current prevalence rates for obesity ranged from 3.3% in Brandenburg and Saxony till 5.4% in Saarland. The current data from SEE by the majority of the individual states showed that the prevalence for both overweight and obesity did not increase any more after 2004 and is even declining in some states compared to the former data inquiry. Absolute decrease of prevalence rates was up to 3% for overweight and 1.8% for obesity. Conclusion: The current data from the SEE of individual German states are based on census and showed by the majority that the prevalence of overweight and obese children starting school did not increase anymore and even declined in the last 4 years, respectively. It is supposed that the measures for prevention initiated in the 1990s and implemented afterwards have contributed to this positive development in Germany.     

A study of growth parameters and prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children from delhi

OBJECTIVE: (1) To assess the height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of school children from Delhi and generate percentile charts as appropriate for age, gender and socio-economic status. (2) To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children from low and upper socioeconomic status (LSES and USES respectively). DESIGN: Cross sectional evaluation of anthropometric parameters in Delhi school children (5-18 years) from different geographical zones. SETTING: Government schools (non-fee paying) and Private Schools (fee paying) in Delhi. SUBJECTS: 21485 children, 8840 (3566 boys, 5274 girls) from government schools and 12645 (6197 boys, 6448 girls) from private schools. Methods: Subjects underwent assessment of height and weight and calculation of BMI. Children were classified as normal, overweight and obese as per IOTF guidelines. Height, weight and BMI percentile charts specific for the socioeconomic status were generated using the LMS method. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was assessed and compared between the two socio-economic groups. RESULTS: A significant difference was noted in height, weight and BMI between LSES and USES. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in USES children was 16.75 % and 5.59 % in boys and 19.01 % and 5.03 % in girls respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant disparity in anthropometric parameters between children from USES and LSES, with a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in USES children.     

Increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Thai children and adolescents associated with increasing prevalence of obesity

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is being diagnosed more frequently in children and adolescents. Thailand has a low incidence of childhood DM. This study reviewed patients with DM in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital compared to our previous study. The results demonstrate that type 2 DM in Thai children and adolescents has increased from 5% during 1986-1995 to 17.9% during 1996-1999. Mean age was 11.6 years. Mean BMI was 27.8 kg/m2. Fifty-six percent were diagnosed on routine examination. The period of increase in type 2 DM is associated with an increase of obesity prevalence from 5.8% in 1990 to 13.3% in 1996. This result emphasizes the importance of encouraging daily physical activity and healthy diet in our populations and also alerts our pediatricians and endocrinologists to the possibilities of type 2 DM in these age groups.     

Sleep and obesity in children and adolescents

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive update of epidemiologic studies that have assessed the association between sleep and obesity risk. Data suggest that short sleep is associated with an increased risk for being or becoming overweight/obese or having increased body fat. Late bedtimes are also a risk factor for overweight/obesity. Findings also suggest that changes in eating pathways may lead to increased body fat. Future experimental studies are needed to enhance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which sleep may play a role in the development and maintenance of childhood obesity.     

Overweight/obesity in adolescents with phenylketonuria: protective and predisposing factors

ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence and factors associated with overweight/obesity development in adolescents with early diagnosed phenylketonuria treated exclusively by diet.MethodologyIn this cross-sectional study anthropometric measurements, serum phenylalanine levels, and 10 metabolites associated with lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were analyzed in 101 adolescents aged 10–20 years. Adolescents were categorized into overweight/obesity and eutrophic/low body mass index groups. These patients were compared using Student's t-test, Pearson's chi-square test, Wald's chi-square test for multivariate analysis. Further, to verify whether the prevalence of overweight/obesity found in the study population was similar to that in the general population, the authors compared the nutritional status of 46 patients aged 13–17 years with that of healthy students of the same age from the National School Health Survey using the chi-square test for adherence. The significance threshold was p < 0.5.ResultsThe prevalence of overweight/obesity in adolescents was 27.7%. There was no difference in prevalence between sexes. Older age was a protective factor and Increased Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance index and high phenylalanine and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were predictive factors for overweight/obesity. The equality hypothesis was not rejected in the comparison of nutritional states of 46 patients aged 13–17 years and healthy students of the same age.ConclusionThe prevalence of overweight/obesity in phenylketonuria adolescents was similar to what is found in healthy adolescents.