title: Global epidemics of childhood obesity is hitting a 'less industrialized' corner in Asia: a case study in Macao.
abstract: Childhood obesity prevalence amongst children is rising virtually in all countries with rapid acceleration in major cities in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 2,015 primary and secondary students in Macao to investigate the nutritional status and analyzed for the relationship of overweight and other cardio-metabolic risk factors. Subjects were randomly selected in proportion to the gender and age of the population. A total of 26.4% of boys and 13.9% of girls were overweight or obese with the highest prevalence around 40% among boys aged 9-12 and girls aged 10 and 11. Some 18.1% of boys and 20.4% of girls were found to have borderline LDL levels; a further 9.3% and 10.4% were found to have high-risk, respectively. For those students with overweight and obesity, a significant higher proportion of them had cardio-metabolic risk factors. Based on this evidence, there is a concern that obesity and its associated co-morbidity could reach epidemic proportions in the 'less industrialized' cities of China.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong , People's Republic of China. alee@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mandy M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Vera M W
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Keung
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058872:Epidemics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008256:Macau / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008055:Lipids