Secular trend in the development of fatness during childhood and adolescence

This study examined the development of fatness, as indexed by skinfold thickness, in healthy Caucasian children and adolescents residing in the same location in Canada in the 1960s and the 1990s. The data comes from two longitudinal studies, conducted approximately 30 years apart, of children aged 8-16 years. The first study (1964-1973) annually measured 207 males and 140 females. The second investigation (1991-1997) repeatedly measured 113 males and 115 females. Identical measurement tools and protocols were used for height, body mass, and skinfolds. Maturational age was estimated as a measure in years from age of peak height velocity. Males from the second investigation matured significantly (P < 0.05) earlier. Multilevel regression modeling was utilized to determine developmental curves for the individuals within the two populations. When differences in height, body mass, and maturity were controlled, skinfold thicknesses of the males and females in the second study were significantly greater (P < 0.05) than age- and sex-matched peers in the first study. This was not seen in models of the BMI. The results suggest that when maturity and size were controlled, the fatness of children and adolescents increased over 30 years. (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The prevalence of childhood obesity in primary school children in urban Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand

Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem because of its strong association with adulthood obesity and the related adverse health consequences. The published literature indicates a rising prevalence of childhood obesity in both developed and developing countries. However no data exists on the prevalence in Northeast Thailand, one of the poorest regions of the country and one that has experienced a recent economic transition. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity in seven to nine year old children in urban Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand. A cross-sectional school based survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity in children of urban Khon Kaen, Thailand. Multi-staged cluster sampling was used to select 12 school clusters of 72 children each between the ages of 7 and 9 years, in primary school grades 1, 2 and 3 from government, private and demonstration schools. A total of 864 seven to nine year old school children were studied. Anthropometric measurements of standing height and weight were taken for all subjects to the nearest tenth of a centimetre and tenth of a kilogram respectively. Childhood obesity was defined as a weight-for-height Z-score above 2.0 standard deviations of the National Center for Health Statistics/World Health Organisation reference population median. The prevalence of childhood obesity was 10.8% (95% CI: 7.6, 13.9). Obesity was significantly more prevalent in boys than girls. The biggest difference was observed between the three school types, with the highest prevalence of obesity found at teacher training demonstration schools and the lowest at the government schools. This study provides the first data on childhood obesity prevalence in Northeast Thailand. The prevalence of 10.8 per cent is lower than that found in two other urban areas of Thailand but slightly higher than expected for this relatively poor region. If this prevalence rate increases, as observed in other countries in economic transition, the incidence of non-communicable diseases associated with obesity is also likely to increase, thus raising cause for concern and reason for intervention to both control and prevent obesity during childhood.