Abstract
The prevalence of obesity among Italian children has reached such alarming levels as to require detailed studies of the causes of the phenomenon. A cross-sectional study was carried out in order to assess the weight status of 1164 Italian children aged 6–8 years (the Monitoring Air Pollution Effects on Children for Supporting Public Health Policy (MAPEC_LIFE) cohort) and to identify any associations between selected socio-economic and environmental factors and overweight/obesity. The data were obtained by means of a questionnaire given to parents, and any associations were examined by binomial logistic regression analyses. Overweight was found to be positively associated with male gender, parents of non-Italian origin, and parents who smoke, and negatively associated with the parents’ level of education and employment. In addition, the frequency of overweight varied in relation to the geographical area of residence, with a greater prevalence of overweight children in the cities of central-southern Italy. This study highlights the need to implement appropriate obesity prevention programs in Italy, which should include educational measures concerning lifestyle for parents from the earliest stages of their child’s life.
Highlights
Obesity, as declared by World Health Organization (WHO) [1], is one of the most serious public health concerns in the world
The aim of this study was to: (a) assess the weight status of a cohort of Italian children aged 6–8 years based on self-reported anthropometric data; and (b) to identify any associations between selected socio-economic and environmental factors and overweight/obesity
It aims to assess the association between concentrations of certain atmospheric pollutants and early DNA damage in children aged 6–8 living in areas with varying levels of air pollution, and to build a model for the estimation of global genotoxic risk that can be used to support public health policy [26]
Summary
As declared by World Health Organization (WHO) [1], is one of the most serious public health concerns in the world. It has become a global epidemic, increasing constantly in both industrialised and developing countries [2,3]. The first global report published in 2004 by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) estimated that, globally, about. 155 million young people aged 5–17 years (10%) were overweight, of which 30–45 million (2%–3%) were obese [5]. In the WHO European Region, it was estimated that about 20% of children and adolescents were overweight, a third of whom could be classified as obese [6], while among
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