ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Increasing prevalence of obesity particularly affects underprivileged families and children. This study aimed to estimate the efficiency of an obesity prevention program for school-aged children in deprived urban areas. METHODS: This was an intervention trial with a before-and-after comparison of a cohort of school-aged children in preschool and primary school in three deprived urban areas in Grenoble, France. All school-aged children in the first and third year of preschool and the third year of primary school during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years, whose parents agreed to participate in the study, were included. Children were seen again 2 years later. The staff of the school health service measured and weighed the children during a medical check-up, thus determining their body mass index (BMI) and Z score. A school doctor suggested specific care to the parents of overweight children. A lifestyle questionnaire was completed. The primary outcome was changes in BMI and the Z score over 2 years. The secondary outcome was changes in lifestyle and eating habits. RESULTS: A total of 2434 children were included in the screening campaign. Of the 2434 children included in screening, 1824 children were reviewed and evaluated at 2 years. At inclusion, overweight prevalence increased with age, from 6.4% in the first year of preschool to 21.9% in the third year of primary school. More than 60% of overweight children had a high social vulnerability score. Prevalence of overweight increased from 13.8% to 21.5% in 2 years in the entire cohort (P<0.001). In the 252 overweight children, the mean BMI increased from 20 kg/m(2) to 21.8 kg/m(2) (P<0.001), as did the mean Z score, which increased from 2.72 to 2.9 (P<0.001). There was no significant interaction depending on whether the family physician was in private practice or employed by a health center. According to their eating habits, fewer of the overweight children had a snack in the morning and more had a school lunch. More than half of the children thought they had improved their eating habits. They played more sports (30% versus 49.5%). CONCLUSION: This study failed to demonstrate that incentive for medical management of excess weight had an effect on the short-term (2 years) evolution of the children's corpulence.
Subject(s)
Overweight/epidemiology , Pediatric Obesity/prevention & control , Weight Reduction Programs , Body Mass Index , Child , Child, Preschool , Controlled Before-After Studies , Dietary Services , Exercise , Feeding Behavior , Female , Follow-Up Studies , France/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Pediatric Obesity/epidemiology , Poverty Areas , School Health Services , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
Facing the growing increase of childhood obesity in France, the Grenoble Municipal School Health Service wanted to evaluate the importance of this phenomenon present among elementary school children in the area. A descriptive, cross-sectional and retrospective survey was conducted during the 2000/2001 academic year among a group of 1361 children born in 1990. The Quetelet Index was utilized to measure the level of being overweight, and the breaking point levels for being overweight and obese were defined according to new international standards. The prevalence of obesity is approximately 3% (2.7% in girls and 2.9% in boys) and remains constant from nursery school to elementary school. Nearly 35% of obese children in nursery school remain obese at the end of elementary school. Overweight prevalence is at its highest and increases significantly from nursery school (8.3%) through elementary school (14%). The study further revealed that girls aged 10-12 who did not pass and were held back from the next grade are five times more at risk of obesity than those who pass. The Municipal School Health Service has a critical role to play in the prevention of childhood obesity and its early screening and detection.
Subject(s)
Child Welfare , Obesity/epidemiology , Child , Female , France/epidemiology , Humans , Male , Obesity/etiology , Prevalence , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Urban PopulationABSTRACT
In 27 children suffering from a foreign body in the respiratory tract with asphyxia, the Heimlich manoeuvre, previously described, was successful in saving life of this dramatic situation in all cases, without respiratory complication. While this method is better known by members of first-aid associations than by pediatricians, it may be successfully used in very young children and infants.
