title: Trends in overweight and obesity in pre-school children in urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 2002 to 2005.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the trends in overweight and obesity in pre-school children in urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, over the period 2002 to 2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two cross-sectional studies were conducted in 2002 and 2005. Multistage cluster sampling was used in both surveys to select the subjects. Sociodemographic information was collected using a self-administered questionnaire given to parents in 2002 and using an interview-administered questionnaire to parents in 2005. Weight and height were measured using the same standard methods in both surveys. BMI (kg/m2) was calculated and overweight/obesity was defined using the age- and sex-specific BMI cut-off points proposed by the International Obesity Taskforce.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children aged 4 to 5 years, attending pre-schools in urban areas of HCMC, Vietnam, in 2002 (n 492) and 2005 (n 670).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of overweight and obesity almost doubled from 2002 to 2005 (21.4 % and 36.8 %, respectively). The increase was more evident in less wealthy districts than in wealthy districts. The proportion of boys classified as obese in 2005 (22.5 %) was three times that in 2002 (6.9 %).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased rapidly in children aged 4 to 5 years in urban areas, and especially in less wealthy districts, over a 3-year period. These results signal an urgent need for prevention programmes to control and reverse this rapid upward trend in overweight and obesity in young children in HCMC.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Centre of Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. thudieuhuynh@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Huynh Thi Thu
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Dieu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Dibley
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Sibbritt
authors.forename: Tran Thi Minh
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Hanh
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology