Regional Disparities in Obesity Among a Heterogeneous Population of Chinese Children and Adolescents

ABSTRACT: Key Points

Question

What are the geographical characteristics of the obesity epidemic among the heterogeneous population of Chinese children and adolescents?

Findings

In this cross-sectional survey that included 201 098 children aged 3 to 18 years, the highest obesity prevalence was estimated for children aged 8 to 13 years in northern China (from 18.8% to 23.6%) and for boys aged 3 to 6 years in western China (from 18.1% to 28.6%).

Meaning

This study suggests that regionally adapted interventions are needed to efficiently mitigate the prevalence of obesity among the heterogeneous population of Chinese children.

Importance

Obesity is a public health challenge in China, but the geographical profiles of overweight and obesity among Chinese children are limited.

Objective

To examine regional disparities in the prevalence of obesity among the heterogeneous population of Chinese children and adolescents to provide a more accurate profile of obesity among children in China.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The Prevalence and Risk Factors for Obesity and Diabetes in Youth (PRODY) study was a cross-sectional survey study conducted from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019, among 201 098 children aged 3 to 18 years from 11 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities that produced a sample of Chinese children with a full range of ages and wide geographical coverage using a multistage, stratified, cluster-sampling design.

Exposures

Five regions geographically representative of China (northern, eastern, southern, western, and central).

Main Outcomes and Measures

The body weights and heights of all participants were measured. Multilevel, multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

Results

Among 201 098 healthy children (105 875 boys [52.6%]; mean [SD] age, 9.8 [3.8] years) from eastern, southern, northern, central, and western China, the highest obesity prevalence was estimated for children aged 8 to 13 years in northern China (from 18.8% [95% CI, 16.2%-21.7%] to 23.6% [95% CI, 20.5%-26.9%]) and for boys aged 3 to 6 years in western China (from 18.1% [95% CI, 10.4%-29.4%] to 28.6% [95% CI, 14.3%-49.0%]). Boys had a higher prevalence than girls of obesity only in eastern and northern China, with a mean difference in prevalence of 4.6% (95% CI, 3.8%-5.4%) and 7.6% (95% CI, 6.5%-8.6%), respectively.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this survey study, substantial geographic disparities in the prevalence of obesity and overweight were found among the heterogeneous population of Chinese children. The results suggest that special attention should be paid to vulnerable children and that regionally adapted interventions are needed to efficiently mitigate obesity in children. This survey study examines regional disparities in the prevalence of obesity among the heterogeneous population of Chinese children and adolescents to provide a more accurate profile of obesity among children in China.

SUBMITTER: Zhang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8548942 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature