Overweight more prevalent among children than among adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To study if there is a change in paediatric overweight/obesity prevalence from 1982 to 2002 in a population with a high proportion of post-graduate education.


METHODS
Two samples of children in Uppsala County, Sweden, were compared: children who were 4, 10 and 16 year old in 1982; or 4, 10 and 16 year old in 2002. Mean BMI (in the lowest 10%, middle 50% and highest 10%) and ISO-BMI ('age adjusted BMI') cut-off values were calculated in each age and gender group.


RESULTS
Using the mean BMI or ISO-BMI cut-off values, the BMI-distribution shifted from 1982 to 2002. More 4- and 10-year-old girls and boys were overweight/obese, although this shift was larger in girls. No shift was seen in the 16-year-olds, only the middle 50% group in the 16-year-old girls had a slight increase of their mean BMI. In the 2002 4-year-old, and both 10-year-old samples, a higher proportion of the girls were overweight/obese compared to the boys, but no difference was seen in the 16-year-old sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Young children, especially girls, have become much more overweight/obese during the past 20 years, despite a high proportion of post-graduate education in the population. The lack of major change in 16-year-olds may suggest a rather recent change in the children's environment/lifestyle.
Holmbäck
Ulf
U
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. Ulf.Holmback@pubcare.uu.se
Fridman
Jennifer
J
Gustafsson
Jan
J
Proos
Lemm
L
Sundelin
Claes
C
Forslund
Anders
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology