Global prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschoolers

Twenty-three studies reporting cross-sectional and longitudinal data were conducted in 14 different countries between 1998 and 2008. The number of preschool age children totaled more than 43,837 with one study not reporting a sample size. Studies used both international (i.e., International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), World Health Organization (WHO)) and national reference standards (i.e., United States - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Spain - SRS, Italy - Luciano) to classify children as overweight or obese. Within the same sample the percentage of children classified in these categories often showed a 1.5- to 2-fold difference in the prevalence of overweight/obesity with greatest differences in the between country-specific standards (CDC vs. Luciano). WHO percentages frequently exceeded the IOTF percentages. The prevalence of overweight/obese children escalated with increasing age from 2-5 years in both boys and girls with girls showing higher frequencies in 2/3rds of the 72 sex-paired comparisons. The results indicate a recent high prevalence of overweight and obesity in middle and high income countries, among both well-off and lower income segments of populations, in both rural and urban areas, and among all ethnic and racial groups represented. Because a high proportion of preschool overweight/ obese children will continue to increase their adiposity and are at risk for the early onset of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and behavioral problems, concerted public health efforts are needed to coordinate culturally-appropriate parental and caregiver education, home lifestyle changes, dietary and exercise modifications that will reverse the current trajectory.     

Higher prevalence of obesity among children with asthma

The aim of this study is to investigate the association between childhood obesity and asthma, and whether this relationship varies by race/ethnicity. For this population-based, cross-sectional study, measured weight and height, and asthma diagnoses were extracted from electronic medical records of 681,122 patients aged 6-19 years who were enrolled in an integrated health plan 2007-2009. Weight class was assigned based on BMI-for-age. Overall, 18.4% of youth had a history of asthma and 10.9% had current asthma. Adjusted odds of current asthma for overweight, moderately obese, and extremely obese youth relative to those of normal weight were 1.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 1.24), 1.37 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.40), and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.64, 1.73), respectively (P trend < 0.001). Black youth are nearly twice as likely (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.89, 1.99), and Hispanic youth are 25% less likely (adjusted OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.74, 0.77), to have current asthma than to non-Hispanic white youth. However, the relationship between BMI and asthma was strongest in Hispanic and weakest in black youth. Among youth with asthma, increasing body mass was associated with more frequent ambulatory and emergency department visits, as well as increased inhaled and oral corticosteroid use. In conclusion, overweight, moderate, and extreme obesity are associated with higher odds of asthma in children and adolescents, although the association varies widely with race/ethnicity. Increasing BMI among youth with asthma is associated with higher consumption of corticosteroids and emergency department visits.     

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Croatian hospitalized coronary heart disease patients

The aim of this article was to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity using selected anthropometric variables in a sample of hospitalized coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Croatia (N = 1,298). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in surveyed patient population was high: 48.2% of participants were overweight and 28.6% were obese according to their body mass index; measured through waist-to-hip ratio 54.5% of participants were centrally obese. These data on prevalences of overweight, obesity and central obesity show that although there are some reassuring trends, there is still considerable amount of work to be done if the prevalence of this cardiovascular risk factor is to be reduced further among Croatian CHD patients. While the prevalence of obesity seems to be on the decline, the prevalence of overweight is rising, which may be just an early warning sign of an incoming wave of obesity epidemic in future years.     

Secular trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Sicilian schoolchildren aged 11-13 years during the last decade

The present study evaluates trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in relation to gender and area of residence between two cohorts of students aged 11–13 years in Sicily. The analysis was performed on 1,839 schoolchildren, with 924 and 915 children being studied in 1999–2001 and 2009–2010, respectively. The children who were enrolled during 2009–2010 had significantly higher body mass indexes (BMI), BMI z-scores, and waist circumferences than the children who were studied during 1999–2001 (p<0.0001 for all); these differences was also observed when the cohort was subdivided according to gender or residence area The prevalence of obesity increased significantly from 7.9% in 1999–2001 to 13.7% in 2009–2010 (p<0.0001), whereas thinness decreased significantly from 10.1% to 2.3% (p<0.0001) in the same periods. The increase of trends in the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in males (9.7% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.0006) than in females (6.3% vs. 9.8%, p = 0.04) and was slightly higher in urban areas (8.8% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.002) than in rural areas (7.8% vs. 13.0%, p = 0.012). The male gender was associated with a higher risk of being overweight or obese (odds ratio: 1.63; 95% confidence intervals: 1.24–2.15; p = 0.0005) in 2009–2010 than in 1999–2001, after adjusting for age and the residence area. In conclusion, this study showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Sicilian schoolchildren during the last decade and that this trend was related to gender, age and the area of residence. More specifically, our data indicated that the prevalence of obesity increased by 5.8%, the prevalence of thinness decreased by 7.8% and the prevalence of normal-weight children did not change over the course of a decade. These results suggest a shift in the body weights of Sicilian children toward the upper percentiles.     

Trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among young Australians, 1985, 1997, and 2004

Objective: To determine secular trends in overweight/obesity among 7‐ to 15‐year‐olds for the periods 1985, 1997, and 2004. Research Method and Procedures: Data from representative surveys conducted in New South Wales, Australia, in 1985, 1997, and 2004 were analyzed. Height and weight were measured, and BMI categories were created using International Obesity Task Force definitions. Students were grouped as Grades 2 + 4 + 6 and 8 + 10. Results: The prevalences of overweight/obesity for 1985, 1997, and 2004 were 10.9%, 20.6%, and 25.7% among the younger boys and 10.6%, 19.5%, and 26.1% among the older boys. The average annual rate of increase for 1985 to 1997 was 0.81% and for 1997 to 2004 was 0.73% among the younger boys and was 0.74% and 0.94% for the two periods among the older boys. The prevalences of overweight/obesity in 1985, 1997, and 2004 were 14.0%, 22.0%, and 24.8% among the younger girls and 8.3%, 17.9%, and 19.8% among the older girls, respectively. The average annual rates of increase for the two periods were 0.8% and 0.4% among the younger girls and 0.80% and 0.27% among the older girls. Change in the prevalence of overweight/obesity and socioeconomic status were not associated. Discussion: Over the period 1985 to 1997, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased significantly among the younger and older boys and the younger girls. The prevalence of overweight, but not obesity, increased among the older girls over this period. Over the period 1997 to 2004, the prevalence of overweight/obesity combined increased significantly among boys of both age groups but not among girls.     

Explained and unexplained regional variation in Canadian obesity prevalence

The objective of our study was to examine sociodemographic and behavioral variables underlying the geographic variation of obesity in Canada. We aimed to quantify the share of regional variation in average BMI attributable to commonly cited determinants of obesity and the remaining share, which is attributable to the idiosyncrasies of the regional environment ("regional effects"). Using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) (2004), ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to decompose the difference in mean BMI between regions, we quantify two parts of the difference: a share explained by different levels of the covariates and a share explained by those covariates having different effects on BMI in the different regions, using the Atlantic provinces as the reference group. We observed that some differences (e.g., average BMI for males in Quebec compared to the Atlantic provinces) are mostly explained by the different levels of socio-demographic and behavioral covariates, while others (e.g., average BMI for females in Quebec compared to the Atlantic provinces) are mostly explained by the different effects of the covariates on BMI. In the latter scenario, even if covariates were made to be identical in the different regions, the difference in average BMI would persist. Thus, targeting covariates in different regions through plans like physical activity or nutrition policy, income equalization, or education subsidies will have ambiguous effects for addressing disparate obesity levels, being plausible policy options in some regions but less so in others. Future research and policy would benefit from identifying these region-specific attributes that have local implications for BMI.     

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among the affluent adolescent school children of Amritsar, Punjab

In the present study, an attempt has been made to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescent children (between 10-15 years of age) of the affluent families of Amritsar district of Punjab, a state in rapid economic and epidemiological transition. A total of 640 children (323 boys and 317girls) were measured for height and weight. Overweight and obesity were assessed using age and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points. 9.91% boys and 11.99% girls were overweight, and 4.95% boys and 6.31% girls were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the affluent children in Amritsar was as high or higher as in some industrialized countries.     

Epidemiological survey for the prevalence of overweight and abdominal obesity in Greek adolescents

This study was designed to provide estimates of overweight (OW), obesity (OB), and abdominal OB (AO) in a representative sample of adolescents throughout the whole of Greece. A total of 14,456 adolescents aged 13-19 years (6,677 boys and 7,779 girls) had direct measurements (height, weight, waist circumference (WC)) taken at school during 2003. The overall prevalence of OW including OB in the population studied was 29.4% in boys and 16.7% in girls. OB prevalence was also higher in boys than in girls (6.1% vs. 2.7%), whereas prevalence of AO was higher in girls than in boys (21.7% vs. 13.5%). Rates of OW, OB, and AO were significantly more prevalent in the Greek than in the foreign male population (immigrants). OW% in adolescent girls was independently associated with smoking and alcohol consumption. The prevalence of OW and OB in Greek adolescents is high, particularly in boys, comparable with that reported for most Mediterranean European countries. AO, mainly in adolescent girls, also appears high. Preventive and treatment strategies are urgently needed to combat this OB epidemic in Greece.     

Micronutrient deficiency and the prevalence of mothers' overweight/obesity in Egypt.

I examine the relationship between micronutrient deficiency and the prevalence of mothers' overweight/obesity in Egypt using the 1997 Egyptian Integrated Household Survey. The ordered logit results show an overlap between micronutrient deficiency and the prevalence of mothers' overweight/obesity in Egypt. The odds of being overweight/obese are 80.8% higher for micronutrient deficient mothers than for non-deficient mothers, keeping all other variables constant. These results have at least two interesting policy implications. First, as the potential impact of the interaction between micronutrient deficiency and chronic diseases is not well known, the coexistence of micronutrient deficient and overweight/obese women can raise new and serious public health problems in the country. Second, the Egyptian food subsidy program, which lowers the relative prices of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food items, can be one of the major factors for the emergence of overweight/obese and micronutrient deficient mothers in the country. Changing the orientation of the food subsidy program may help to simultaneously address this double burden of mothers' malnutrition.     

Body mass index, prevalence of overweight and obesity in Lithuanian children and adolescents, 1985-2002

The study provides the body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) in Lithuanian children and adolescents, 1985-2002. In the 2000-2002 more than 9000 schoolchildren of 7-18 years old were investigated in the 5 biggest towns and surrounding settlements of Lithuania. These data were compared with the 1985 data. The prevalence of OW and OB was estimated using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points. The prevalence of OW in Lithuanian children and adolescents was higher among younger schoolchildren in comparison with older adolescents. OW was lower among the older girls in comparison with the older boys: 4.60%-11.50%/4.80%0-13.62% in the 7-13 years girls/boys, versus 1.50%-6.60%/3.90%-9.50% in the 14-18 years old girls/boys. The prevalence of OW among younger Lithuanian adolescents did not change significantly in the last 15 years, but it slightly decreased in older boys and demonstrably diminished in older adolescent girls. In generally, the prevalence of OW among Lithuanian adolescents is low in comparison with the prevalence of OW in children from the other countries.     

Recent trends in neonatal mortality: the Canadian experience.

In Canada between 1958 and 1977 the neonatal mortality dropped by more than 50%. the decline was most prominent from 1963 and was almost entirely due to an improvement in neonatal birthweight-specific mortality, which suggests an improvement in perinatal medical care. The timing and pattern of the decline are similar to those reported for the United States. There was a transient increase in the incidence of low and very low birthweight in both countries in the late 1960s. The cause of this increase remains unexplained.     

Micronutrient deficiency and the prevalence of mothers’ overweight/obesity in Egypt

I examine the relationship between micronutrient deficiency and the prevalence of mothers’ overweight/obesity in Egypt using the 1997 Egyptian Integrated Household Survey. The ordered logit results show an overlap between micronutrient deficiency and the prevalence of mothers’ overweight/obesity in Egypt. The odds of being overweight/obese are 80.8% higher for micronutrient deficient mothers than for non-deficient mothers, keeping all other variables constant. These results have at least two interesting policy implications. First, as the potential impact of the interaction between micronutrient deficiency and chronic diseases is not well known, the coexistence of micronutrient deficient and overweight/obese women can raise new and serious public health problems in the country. Second, the Egyptian food subsidy program, which lowers the relative prices of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food items, can be one of the major factors for the emergence of overweight/obese and micronutrient deficient mothers in the country. Changing the orientation of the food subsidy program may help to simultaneously address this double burden of mothers’ malnutrition.     

Trends in body mass index, prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool Lithuanian children, 1986-2006

The study provides the body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool Lithuanian children, 1986-2006. In the 2003-2006 more than 1000 preschool 3-6 year old children from Vilnius (the capital of Lithuania) were investigated according to the standard anthropometric methods. The prevalence of overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) was estimated according to the cut-off points recommended by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Recent data were compared with the data of preschool children from the 1986 Vilnius study and with the data from the other countries. The BMI of preschool children did not change significantly during the last 20 years, except for the statistically significant BMI increment in 6 years old girls. The prevalence of OB among preschool Lithuanian children was low (0.8%-3.7% in boys, and 0-1.9% in girls) and did not change significantly during 1986-2006. The prevalence of OW was higher in preschool girls (10.7%-18.2%) in comparison with preschool boys (6.5%-12.4%). The significant increment of the prevalence of OW was observed among the 6-year-old girls from the 2006 study in comparison with the 1986 study. The possible socio-economic reasons of the defined trend in the BMI and prevalence of OW and OB among preschool Lithuanian children are discussed in the paper.     

Secular trends in prevalence of overweight and obesity from 2006 to 2009 in urban asian Indian adolescents aged 14-17 years

The present study examines the secular trends in prevalence of overweight and obesity among urban Asian Indian adolescents in New Delhi (North India). The data were derived from cross-sectional sampling of children, 3493 in year 2006 and 4908 in year 2009, aged 14-17 years studying in privately-funded and government-funded schools. Age, gender and Asian Indian-specific cut offs of body mass index (BMI) were used to define overweight and obesity. The prevalence of obesity increased significantly from 9.8% in 2006 to 11.7% in 2009 (p<0.01), whereas underweight decreased from 11.3% to 3.9% (p<0.001). There was a significantly higher risk of being overweight (OR 1.28; 95% CI, 1.15-1.42) and obese (OR 1.44; 95% CI, 1.24-1.66) in year 2009 than 2006, after adjusting for age, gender and type of school. Males and privately-funded school children had significantly higher increase in prevalence and risk of being overweight and obese over the three years. In conclusion, this study showed an increasing trend in prevalence of overweight and obesity in urban Asian Indian adolescents. More specifically, the study showed the association of this increasing trend of overweight and obesity prevalence with male gender and high socio-economic status, calling for an urgent need for immediate and targeted preventive measures.     

Hyperuricemia and metabolic syndrome in children with overweight and obesity

ObjectiveTo study the prevalence of hyperuricemia in children with overweight or obesity and analyze the relation with metabolic syndrome and the diseases that define it.Materials and methodsThis is a cross-sectional prevalence study in 148 children recruited from pediatric endocrinology consultation, with overweight or obesity (12 ± 3 years, 48% boys, BMI 31.8 ± 6.1). We measured BMI, waist-height, waist circumference, blood pressure with standard instrumentation and glucose (fasting and after overload with 75 g), insulin resistance, cholesterol HDL, triglycerides and uric acid.ResultsThe prevalence of hyperuricemia was 53%. Patients with hyperuricemia had greater BMI (33.9 vs 30.6, p = 0.003), plus waist circumference (101.4 vs 91.1 cm, p < 0.001), higher blood pressure: systolic (123.4 vs 111.9 mm Hg, p < 0.001), diastolic (78.2 vs 68.7 mm Hg, p < 0.001). They presented greater blood glucose after overload oral glucose (107.5 vs 100.7 mg/dl, p = 0.03), insulin was higher (29.2 vs 20.7 mg/dl, p = 0.001) as well as HOMA IR (6.5 vs 4.4, p < 0.001) and HDL levels were lower (49.5 vs 54.4 mg/dl, p = 0.02).Uric acid's level which most is the likely diagnosis of metabolic syndrome corresponds to 5.4 mg/dl in our sample (sensitivity: 64% and specificity 62%).ConclusionThe prevalence of hyperuricemia in children with overweight and obesity is high. In the group of patients with obesity and hyperuricemia, we found out that the parameters measured to diagnose with metabolic syndrome were less favorable. Uric acid's level from where there is a higher possibility to see metabolic syndrome is 5.4 mg/dl.     

Overweight and obesity prevalence in urban Sardinian children

The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children (6-10 years) of the city of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) with different socioeconomic status. The sample is composed by 1000 children, 500 males and 500 females, 6 to 10 years old, attending primary schools in Cagliari during 2003. For uniformity with similar Italian studies, in this study overweight and obesity were defined as calculated from the charts published by Tanner et al. (1966). In the Cagliari children, the prevalence of obesity is 22.70%. The percentages of overweight and obese children increase with age: respectively from 11.5% and 14.0% at 6 years to 15.4% and 22.7% at 10 years. There are higher numbers of overweight and obese boys than girls in all the age classes. Both males and females show an increasing percentage of overweight and obesity as the socioeconomic level decreases. Males present higher percentages of overweight and obesity than females of the same social level, i.e. in the lowest social category overweight is 18.68% in males and 13.60% in females and obesity 26.46% in males and 23.62% in females. The standard multivariate regression analysis with the indicator of overweight and obesity as dependent variable showed that the sex (male), socio-economic status, maternal schooling and sums of the limb and trunk skinfolds have the greatest influence on overweight and obesity. The results suggest that overweight and obesity are becoming serious social and health problems in Sardinia.     

Changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in Cracow, Poland, 1971-2000.

The aim of this study is to examine changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity, using International Obesity Task Force criteria, in three cohorts of children and youth living in Cracow, Poland, in 1971, 1983 and 2000. Rates of overweight and obesity doubled among boys and girls, from 7.5% and 6.5% in 1971, to 15.2% and 11.8% in the year 2000. The greatest increases in prevalence occurred in the youngest age groups (7-12 years for boys and 7-10 years for girls), increases being less extensive among adolescents, and lowest of all in the oldest age groups (16-18 years in boys and 14-18 years in girls). The absence of a positive secular trend in BMI among adolescent females relative to males may be due to sociocultural pressures associated with transition to a free market economy in Poland. The extent to which girls attempt to achieve the ideal body, as portrayed by media and society more generally, increases across adolescence.