Evaluation of the prevalence of obesity and overweight among children in casablanca according to different references

Abstract

Introduction: From 1975 to 2016, childhood obesity in children aged 5 to 19 years increased from 1% to 6% and 8% in girls and boys respectively (WHO). Epidemiological studies and research indicate that juvenile obesity will surpass the underweight rate by 2022, due in particular to the strong association between eating disorders and obesity. Objective: Pilot study to assess the prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight in children aged 8-12 years according to the three references of WHO, IOTF and CDC. Materials and methods: The sampling involved 180 children aged 8 to 12 years from the city of Casablanca, Morocco. Measurements of height were taken with a stadiometer equipped with a vertical measuring rod, weight and BMI with an impedence meter (krada scan). Body status was assessed by comparing BMI to the standards of the references cited above. Results: The results of our sample showed that the average age was 9.6 ±1.4, the sex ratio girls/boys was 0.93 and the prevalence of overweight and obesity were respectively 11.7% (95% CI [19.43-20.50]) and 8.9% (95% CI [22.00-24.68]) according to the WHO reference (2007), 15% (95% CI [20.49-21.75]) and 2.2% (95% CI [26.07-28.17]) according to the international reference "IOTF" and 13.3% (95% CI [19.99-21.16]) and 5% (95% CI [22.75-26.53]) according to the American CDC references. Conclusion and perspectives: In Morocco overweight and obesity are variable, with prevalences of 8% and 3% respectively according to WHO standards in children aged 8 to 15 years (M. Sebbani et all 2013), however our results show an increase in these prevalences 11.7% and 8.9% respectively. Hence the interest in setting up a preventive strategy in order to slow down the progression of this problem and identify which of the three references would be the most adapted to the Moroccan context.