title: Prevalence of thinness among children and adolescents in Shandong, China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Thinness in children and adolescents poses a considerable public health problem globally, especially in developing countries. The present study examined the prevalence of thinness among children and adolescents in Shandong, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data for this study were obtained from a large cross-sectional survey of schoolchildren. A total of 42,348 students (21,248 boys and 21,100 girls) aged 7-18 years participated in this study. Stature and weight of all subjects were measured; body mass index (BMI) was calculated from their stature and weight. International BMI cutoffs were used to define thinness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalences of thinness grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years were 7.74, 1.43 and 0.61 % for boys and 11.51, 2.54 and 1.03 % for girls, respectively; these figures were all significantly higher in girls than in boys (P < 0.01). Thin children and adolescents had lower stature levels than their counterparts in not thin group in all age groups (7-18 years).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of childhood thinness is still wide in Shandong Province, and public health and nutritional strategies must give attention to the intervention for thinness, including periodic monitoring, education on pattern of nutrition and healthy dietary behavior.
authors: Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong University Institute of Preventive Medicine, 16992 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China. sdcdczyx@163.com.
authors: Ying-Xiu
authors: YX
authors: Zhang
authors: Yantai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong, China.
authors: Zhao-Xia
authors: ZX
authors: Wang
authors: Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong University Institute of Preventive Medicine, 16992 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China.
authors: Mei
authors: M
authors: Wang
authors: Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong University Institute of Preventive Medicine, 16992 Jingshi Road, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Xie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Child and adolescent; Prevalence; Thinness