title: Socioeconomic Status and Overweight: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study of Japanese Children and Adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Socioeconomic status (SES) as a determinant of obesity has received scant attention in Japan. This study examined the association between SES and overweight among Japanese children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses of a representative sample of Japanese children (6-11 years: n = 397) and adolescents (12-18 years: n = 397) were performed, with measured heights and weights from the 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2010 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions. Overweight, including obesity, was defined by International Obesity Task Force cut-offs. SES indicators included household income, equivalent household expenditure, parental educational attainment, and parental occupational class.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overweight prevalence was 12.3% in children and 9.1% in adolescents. Adolescents living in middle-income households were more likely to be overweight than those living in high-income households (OR 2.26, 95% CI, 1.01-5.67) after adjustment for age, sex, and parental weight status. Similarly, adolescents living in households with low expenditure levels were more likely to be overweight than those living in households with high expenditure levels (OR 3.40, 95% CI, 1.20-9.60). In contrast, no significant association was observed among children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicated that low household economic status was associated with being overweight, independent of parental weight status, among Japanese adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kachi
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors