title: Prevalence of overweight, obesity and underweight in Western Australian school-aged children; 2008 compared with 2003.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Due to rising rates of obesity globally, the present study aimed to examine differences in overweight and underweight prevalence in Western Australian schoolchildren in 2008 compared with 2003.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study at two time points; using two-stage stratified sampling, primary and secondary schools in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan Western Australia; sample selected was representative of the State's population figures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen primary and thirteen secondary (2008) and nineteen primary and seventeen secondary (2003) schools. Government and non-government funded schools in metropolitan and non-metropolitan (regional/rural) Western Australia were recruited.
  
  
  METHODS
  Height and weight were measured for 1708 (961 primary and 747 secondary) students in 2008 and 1694 (876 primary and 817 secondary) students in 2003.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overweight and obesity prevalence in primary students was similar in 2008 (22·9 %) to 2003 (23·2 %; P > 0·05). In secondary girls overweight and obesity prevalence dropped from 23·1 % (2003) to 15·9 % (2008; P = 0·002). Secondary boys showed a slight decrease in overweight and obesity prevalence; however, this was not statistically significant (P = 0·102). Higher proportions of underweight in primary girls were observed in 2008 (9·9 %) compared with 2003 (4·2 %; P < 0·001) and in secondary girls in 2008 (9·4 %) compared with 2003 (5·5 %; P < 0·001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Western Australian primary students was stable; however, it declined in secondary students. Both primary and secondary girls showed an increase in underweight prevalence. Public health interventions are needed for the high percentage of youth still overweight, whereas the observed increase in underweight girls warrants attention and further investigation.
authors.affiliation: 1School of Population Health,The University of Western Australia,M435,35 Stirling Highway,Crawley,WA 6009,Australia.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: 2Health Promotion Evaluation Unit,School of Sports Science,Exercise and Health,The University of Western Australia,Crawley,Western Australia,Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: 3Education & Research Division,Cancer Council Western Australia and Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer Control,Curtin University of Technology,Perth,Western Australia,Australia.
authors.forename: Iain Stephen
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.affiliation: 4Child Health Promotion Research Centre,School of Exercise and Health Science,Edith Cowan University,Mt Lawley,Western Australia,Australia.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: 5Population Health Intervention Research Centre,University of Calgary,Calgary,Alberta,Canada.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.affiliation: 6McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing,School of Population and Global Health,The University of Melbourne,Melbourne,Victoria,Australia.
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
authors.affiliation: 7School of Medicine,Flinders University,Adelaide,South Australia,Australia.
authors.forename: Anthea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Magarey
authors.affiliation: 8Centre for the Built Environment and Health,School of Population Health,The University of Western Australia,Crawley,Western Australia,Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bull
authors.affiliation: 9School of Exercise and Health Science,Edith Cowan University,Joondalup,Western Australia,Australia.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Devine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology