Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in 6-7-Year-Old Children-A Result of 9-Year Analysis of Big City Population in Poland.

Joanna Szczyrska,Agnieszka Szlagatys-Sidorkiewicz,Michał Brzeziński,Agnieszka Jankowska,Paulina Metelska,Marek Jankowski

doi:10.3390/ijerph17103480

Joanna Szczyrska, Agnieszka Szlagatys-Sidorkiewicz + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17103480

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Abstract

Excess body weight is a serious public health problem, which affects both adults and children. Unfortunately, the prevalence of excess body weight in children in Poland is not subject to any regular screening. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 6–7-year-old children in the municipality of Gdańsk in the years 2008–2016. The anthropometric parameters of 12,330 children (49.55% girls and 50.45% boys) with a mean age of 6.53 ± 0.38 years were analyzed. The prevalence of overweight was 7.49% (7.91% girls and 7.07% boys) and obesity 4.24% (4.47% girls and 3.99% of boys). There was no difference in the prevalence of neither overweight nor obesity between boys and girls (p = 0.076). However, the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined is higher in girls (12.38% vs. 11.06%, p = 0.023). There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity neither in the group of girls nor in the group of boys in children aged 6–7 years in yearly cohorts examined between 2008 and 2016. The prevalence of excess body weight in this population is at a stable level.

Highlights

Excess body weight is a serious public health issue both in Poland and worldwide
The number of children with overweight and obesity is still alarmingly high despite the slowdown in the previously soaring trend, which is still observed in most developed countries [3,4]
The aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence of excess body weight in 6–7-year old children in the municipality of Gdansk in 2008–2016, based on published data we hypothesize that there is no significant increase

Summary

Introduction

Excess body weight is a serious public health issue both in Poland and worldwide. Obesity significantly increases the risk of developing many diseases of affluence. The occurrence of overweight and obesity during childhood is associated with a clearly higher risk of obesity and its consequences in adulthood [1,2]. The number of children with overweight and obesity is still alarmingly high despite the slowdown in the previously soaring trend, which is still observed in most developed countries [3,4]. The numbers of obese and overweight children are still growing

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