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Nutritional status of school-aged children of Buenos Aires, Argentina: data using three references
I Kovalskys1, C Rausch Herscovici, M J De Gregorio
1International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Argentina, Buenos Aires 1509, Argentina. ikovalskys@ilsi.org.ar
Insights
Childhood overweight and obesity are prevalent in Buenos Aires school children, affecting over 35% regardless of the reference used. This highlights an urgent need for preventive interventions to address this public health concern.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Public Health Nutrition
- Childhood Obesity Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood overweight is a growing concern in developing nations.
- Standardized classification systems are crucial for cross-country comparisons.
- This study addresses the need for updated prevalence data in school-aged children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and thinness in 10-11-year-old children in Buenos Aires.
- To compare prevalence rates using three distinct reference standards: CDC 2000, IOTF 2000, and WHO 2007.
- To identify potential gender-specific differences in these conditions.
Main Methods:
- A representative sample of 1588 children (771 boys, 817 girls) was randomly selected from 80 public schools in Buenos Aires.
- Data collection involved anthropometric measurements to classify weight status.
- Prevalence was calculated using the specified international reference standards.
Main Results:
- Overweight and obesity prevalence ranged from 27.9% to 35.5% across the sample, depending on the reference standard.
- No significant gender differences were found for overweight prevalence.
- Obesity was significantly more common in boys across all three references, while thinness prevalence varied by gender and reference.
Conclusions:
- A high prevalence of overweight and obesity exists among school-aged children in Buenos Aires.
- Findings are consistent across different international reference standards.
- Urgent development and implementation of preventive strategies are recommended based on these epidemiological findings.
Background:
Childhood overweight has been reported in developing countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a standardized classification system in order to facilitate comparison across countries and studies. This study aims to assess the prevalence of overweight, obesity and thinness in a group of 10-11-year-old children using three references [the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 2000, the the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) 2000 and the WHO, 2007].
Methods:
A representative sample of 1588 children (771 boys and 817 girls) resulted from the randomization of 80 public schools from Buenos Aires.
Results:
The prevalence of overweight, including obesity, for the whole sample was 35.5, 27.9 and 27.9%, respectively, depending on the reference used. For overweight, no gender differences were observed regardless of the reference used. Obesity was significantly more frequent among boys, and this remained consistent for the three references. Thinness frequency was 1.6 and 2.5% for the boys and 2.7 and 4.5% for the girls when considering the WHO and CDC cut-off points, respectively, and frequency increased in both boys and girls for each age group.
Conclusion:
There is a high prevalence of overweight and obese cases among school-aged children of Buenos Aires regardless of the reference used. Epidemiological data provided by this study suggests the urgent need to design preventive interventions.
