A social epidemiologic study of obesity among preschool children in Thailand.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of childhood obesity in a moderately industrialized province in Thailand and examine the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on childhood obesity.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
One thousand one hundred and fifty seven children in the second or third grade of kindergartens in Saraburi Province, Thailand.


METHODS
Height and weight were measured and the weight-for-height index with the Thai national standard was used for assessing nutritional status. A questionnaire was used for measuring parents' socioeconomic status.


RESULTS
The prevalence of childhood obesity over 97th percentile for weight-for-height (>p(97)) was 22.7% in urban and 7.4% in rural areas. There were marked relationships between childhood obesity and parents' educational level and household income.


CONCLUSIONS
Childhood obesity is an emerging health problem in developing countries, especially in urban areas. This study demonstrates a marked correlation between SES and prevalence of childhood obesity in an Asian developing country.
Sakamoto
N
N
Department of Community Health and Medicine, Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan. nao@nao.to
Wansorn
S
S
Tontisirin
K
K
Marui
E
E
D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology