Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children

Abstract

The growing prevalence of overweight and obesity is an urgent problem not only in adults but also in children in both developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity and other forms of nutritional disorders in Russian children. Material and methods. The nutritional status of 17 329 children aged 2-18 years was assessed on the basis of anthropometric data, obtained by the Federal State Statistics Service during the "Sample Survey of the Population's Diet" in 2018. The prevalence of various forms of malnutrition was assessed by the Z-score categories: underweight, stunted growth (short stature), thinness, overweight, obesity. Results. Population mean and median values of Z-scores in all sex-age groups do not exceed ±0.5 in relation to WHO standards, which indicates the applicability of the standards to assessing the nutritional status of Russian children population. High body weight (WAZ>2) occurs in 7.6% of children, underweight in 2.6%. The incidence of short stature in boys and girls is 7.0 and 6.8%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in boys is 20.4 and 10.4%, respectively, while in girls, 15.4 and 7.6%. In general, in the population of children 2-18 years old, the prevalence of overweight is 18%, and obesity is 9.1%. The index of malnutrition, including the sum of the frequency of various combinations of low Z-scores (<-2), characterizing underweight, short stature, thinness, and their combinations was 8.0%. The multilevel logistic regression showed that overweight and obesity inversely depend on age; the risk of developing these conditions is lower in the city, but higher in male children compared to female children. Conclusion. The population of children 2-18 years old in the Russian Federation is characterized by a low incidence of forms of malnutrition, such as underweight and thinness. However, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher than in European countries.