Prevalence of obesity in children in north-east Italy.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_963C6377C07E
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Prevalence of obesity in children in north-east Italy.
Journal
International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders
Author(s)
Maffeis C., Schutz Y., Piccoli R., Gonfiantini E., Pinelli L.
ISSN
0307-0565 (Print)
ISSN-L
0307-0565
Publication state
Published
Issued date
1993
Volume
17
Number
5
Pages
287-294
Language
english
Abstract
This study was performed to analyse the prevalence of obesity in children living in six different areas of the north-east of Italy. The study included 1523 children (749 male, 774 female), divided into four age categories (4, 8, 10, 12 +/- 0.5 years of age, respectively). The physical characteristics of the children were measured by trained and standardized examiners. In accordance with the guidelines on the Italian Consensus Conference on Obesity (Rome, 4-6 June 1991), a child was defined as obese when his weight was higher than 120% of the weight predicted for height, as calculated from the Tanner's tables. On average, the prevalence of obesity was higher in males than in females (15.7% vs. 11%). The highest prevalence was seen in 10-year-old males (23.4%). The prevalence increased with age both in males (4 years = 3.6%, 8 years = 11.2%, 10 years = 23.4%, 12 years = 17.3%) and in females (4 years = 2%, 8 years = 13.3%, 10 years = 12.7%, 12 years = 11.9%). This tendency was maintained when calculating the obesity prevalence by other methods, such as BMI, triceps skinfold and fat mass, although the magnitude of the prevalence was different depending on the criteria used to define it. A consensus on more precise criteria to define obesity is needed for a better diagnosis of obesity in childhood and to allow a more reliable measurement and comparison of the prevalence of obesity among populations.
Keywords
Age Factors, Body Composition, Body Height, Body Mass Index, Body Weight, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Italy/epidemiology, Male, Obesity/epidemiology, Sex Factors, Skinfold Thickness
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
21/01/2008 14:09
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:58
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