Abstract
IntroductionNo prevalence/trends were reported in Chinese infants and preschool children at the national level in this historical period of 1980s–2000s. The objectives of this paper were to present the 20-year trends in prevalence and risk factors of obesity in children below 7 years.MethodsData obtained from a series of three sequential national surveys performed using the same design in the same 9 cities in 1986, 1996 and 2006. Weight and height (length <3 years) were measured using unified procedures at each period. Obesity was defined as a weight-for-height ≥120% of median of the NCHS/WHO international reference. A population-based paired matching case-control study was employed for screening risk factors.ResultsIn 1986, there was no substantial obesity epidemic, but the overall obesity prevalence reached 3.4% (boys 4.1% and girls 2.7%) in 2006, rising by 2.8 times between 1986 and 2006. Reversed gender difference, relatively higher prevalence in preschool age and more rapid increase in the second 10-year were three very obvious characteristics in China, e.g. prevalence of boys 9.9% and girls 4.9% in 2006 and increasing rate of boys 0.45 percentage points per year (pp/y) and girls 0.21 pp/y at 6–7 years groups, 0.17 pp/y of the second 10-year higher 1-fold than previous.ConclusionsChina has been moving into the alarming epidemic of childhood obesity. Effort should be immediately made to prevent further deterioration. High birth weight, high parental BMI and several behavioral and family-related factors were identified and had important practical value for obesity intervention.
Highlights
No prevalence/trends were reported in Chinese infants and preschool children at the national level in this historical period of 1980s–2000s
More disappointing is that obese children are at high risk of becoming obese adults [7], their associated with chronic conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension or coronary heart disease [8,9]
Weight and height of all children were measured in a standardized way by specially trained technicians or nurses [18]
Summary
No prevalence/trends were reported in Chinese infants and preschool children at the national level in this historical period of 1980s–2000s. The objectives of this paper were to present the 20-year trends in prevalence and risk factors of obesity in children below 7 years. In children and young people, the shortterm deleterious effects of obesity on physiological responses have been well documented as an unfavorable impact on blood pressure, blood lipids and blood glucose [4,5,6]. Many countries/regions/ organizations attach great importance to estimation of prevalence and analysis of risk factors of obesity in childhood for helping health policy planners develop intervention strategies to overcome strong influences of obese environments at young ages. In China, the National Epidemiological Survey on Simple Obesity in Childhood (NESSOC) was carried out for the first time in 8 major cities in 1986 [12], including Beijing, Harbin, Xi’an, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Fuzhou and Kunming (Figure 1)
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