Prevalence of eating out and its association with overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Hebei Province / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of eating out among children and adolescents aged 6-17 in Hebei Province, and to explore the association between eating out and overweight/obesity.@*Methods@#Data came from Children and Nurse Nutrition Health Monitoring of China during 2016-2017. Questionnaire surveys and anthropometric measures was conducted among 3 330 children aged 6-17 in 12 survey sites. Multivariate Logistics stepwise regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of eating out and the relationship between eating out and overweight/obesity.@*Results@#The proportion of eating out was 16.19%, and the rate of overweight and obesity was 29.43%. Multivariate analysis showed that the older children (junior high school students:OR=1.36; high school students:OR=3.57, both P<0.05) and adolescents from highincome families (10 000~<20 000 CNY:OR=1.48; ≥20 000 CNY:OR=2.93, both P<0.05) were more likely to eat out. Children and adolescents living in rural areas (OR=0.20, P<0.01), nononlychild (OR=0.76, P=0.02), day school students (OR=0.21, P<0.01), and the primary caregivers of the elderly (OR=0.69, P=0.03) were less likely to eat out. In addition, eating out was statistically associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity (OR=1.31, P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#Eating out is common among children and adolescents aged 6-17 in Hebei Province. Residency, age, household income, onechild family, boarding and and eating out behaviors of primary caregivers are associated with eating out among children and adolescents. Eating out may increase the risk of overweight/obesity in children.