Zhongguo quanke yixue (Jan 2024)
Growth Trends and Overweight/Obesity Status of Children Aged 7-12 Years in China from 2014 to 2020
Abstract
Background Since the reform and opening up in China, socio-economic development has developed rapidly, and the basic indicators such as children's height and body mass have risen rapidly. Previous studies have shown that the growth in height of Chinese children has slowed in recent years, while the growth in body mass has accelerated, leading to a high prevalence of overweight and obesity currently. Investigating the current growth and nutritional status of Chinese children is important to prevent and address the negative effects of growth trends. Objective To analyse the trends of growth and overweight/obesity in Chinese children aged 7 to 12 years from 2014 to 2020, and provide a scientific basis for formulating measures to promote children's physical fitness and prevent obesity. Methods In this study, height, body mass and BMI data of 10 817 children aged 7 to 12 years from four surveys of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 were selected in May 2022. The trends of height, body mass, prevalence of overweight, obesity and overweight/obesity stratified by gender and urban/rural areas. Logistic regression analysis was also used to explore the factors influencing overweight and obesity among children aged 7 to 12 years in China from 2014 to 2020. Results Compared with 2014, the height of 7 to 12 years urban female children, rural male children and rural female children in 2020 increased by 3.8 cm (95%CI=1.3-6.2 cm), 6.5 cm (95%CI=4.3-8.5 cm), 6.6 cm (95%CI=4.3-8.8 cm) respectively Compared with 2014, the body mass of 7 to 12 years urban male children, urban female children, rural male children and rural female children in 2020 increased by 2.3 kg (95%CI=0.8-3.9 kg), 2.1 kg (95%CI=0.6-3.7 kg), 3.0 kg (95%CI=1.7-4.2 kg), 3.0 kg (95%CI=1.8-4.2 kg), respectively, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The prevalence of overweight/obesity among boys increased from 26.5% to 29.5%, the prevalence of obesity and overweight/obesity among girls decreased from 12.1% and 21.1% to 7.9% and 17.3%, the prevalence of overweight and overweight/obesity among urban children increased from 11.7% and 21.6% to 14.9% and 26.4%, and the prevalence of obesity and overweight/obesity among rural children decreased from 14.3% and 25.8% to 11.2% and 21.6% from 2014 to 2020, respectively, which were statistically significant (P<0.05). The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age and sex were the influencing factors for prevalence of overweight in children (P<0.05) ; urban/rural areas, age, and gender were the influencing factors for prevalence of obesity and overweight in children (P<0.05) ; age was the influencing factor for prevalence of obesity in boys (P<0.05) ; age and year were the influencing factors for prevalence of obesity in boys (P<0.05) ; age was the influencing factor for prevalence of overweight in girls (P<0.05) ; urban/rural areas, age and year were the influencing factors for prevalence of overweight and obesity in girls (P<0.05) . Conclusion From 2014 to 2020, the body shape of children aged 7 to 12 years in China increased rapidly, with greater increase in rural areas than urban areas, and the gap between urban and rural areas has been narrowing. Meanwhile, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in boys and urban children continued to increase, while that in girls and rural children decreased. Rural/urban areas, age and gender are factors influencing the prevalence of overweight/obesity in children.
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