Survey on overweight and obesity of preschool children in rural areas from ten provinces of China / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the status of overweight and obesity among preschool children in rural areas of ten provinces in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using data from "Physical development of rural children under the age of 7 from ten provinces of China in 2006", preschool children were selected as the object of study. Overweight, mild obesity, moderately obese, severe obesity were defined asweight was over 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% than the same sex under height population reference mean. SPSS 13.0 software was used for statistical analysis. χ² test was used to compare rates.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total number of 38 923 preschool children were included in the study. The overall prevalence of overweight was 4.18%, with boy's higher than girl's (χ² = 4.343 6, P = 0.037 1) and the highest rate of overweight (5.80%) was seen in the 3-year-old group. The overall prevalence of obesity was 1.21% , with majority as mild (0.78%). There was no significant difference between boys and girls (χ² = 0.389 0, P = 0.532 8). The 6 to 7 year old group had the highest rate of obesity (1.42%). In the ten provinces, the prevalence rates of overweight were 1.38%-7.62% and the obesity were 0.57%-3.08% . The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity showed the highest in Jilin and lowest in Guangxi.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The overall prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among preschool children in rural areas of China were low, with 3 to 4-year-olds appeared in the age of high incidence of overweight and obesity. The overall prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in northern area were higher than in other areas.</p>