Is overweight and obesity in 9-10-year-old children in Liverpool related to deprivation and/or electoral ward when based on school attended?
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether weight problems in children (overweight, obesity and overweight or obesity) were related to deprivation indices when attributed only according to electoral ward of the school attended. To determine whether children with weight problems were more likely to be found in some wards rather than others, and to compare the distribution for boys and girls.


METHODS
Retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study.


METHODS
One hundred and six primary schools from all parts of Liverpool city.


METHODS
Five cohorts of 9-10-year-old children between 1998 and 2003.


METHODS
Body mass index (BMI) for each child to estimate proportions overweight, obese and overweight or obese according to international criteria.


RESULTS
Between January 1998 and March 2003, the heights and weights of 7902 boys and 7514 girls were measured and BMI calculated. The prevalence of boys and girls categorised as overweight or obese was very high (1620, 20.6% and 1909, 25.7%, respectively). Prevalence was not related to deprivation and varied between wards only for the girls; some wards had very different prevalence rates for boys and girls (Picton: 59 boys, 23.4%; 106 girls, 36.6%). The most deprived ward did not have a remarkable prevalence of overweight or obesity (Speke: 32 boys, 15.3%; 40 girls, 19.8%).


CONCLUSIONS
Obesity is a major problem and requires urgent action but targeting intervention on the basis of administrative areas may be very wasteful. Different factors seem to lead to obesity in boys and girls, and attention should be paid to the role of the physical environment.
Dummer
Trevor J B
TJ
Liverpool John Moores University, Henry Cotton Campus, Liverpool, UK.
Gibbon
Mark A
MA
Hackett
Allan F
AF
Stratton
Gareth
G
Taylor
Sue R
SR
D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology