title: [Frequency of obesity and overweight among school age children living in southern Chile].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The frequency of obesity is increasing steadily in Chile.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of obesity and overweight in children and teenagers living in three southern Chilean cities.
  
  
  METHODS
  The database of an evaluation performed in 2006 in schools, was used to obtain weight and height of 32514 subjects aged 12 ± 4 years (48% males). Criteria proposed by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were used to define obesity and overweight.
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to CDC criteria the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 11.2% and 6.5%, respectively. According to IOTF criteria, the fgures were 13.2 and 4%, respectively. The higher frequency of overweight and obesity was observed among children aged less than eight years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a high frequency of obesity and overweight in the studied sample.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Concepión, Chile.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ulloa
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sapunar
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bustos
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sáez
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asenjo
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taibo
authors.forename: Amalia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cornejo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools