[The environment of the obese child. Comparison with a reference population]

Among 7300 school children aged 10 to 12 years, prevalence of obesity (+2 SD of weight for height) was found to be 7.6 +/- 0.3% without significant differences between boys and girls. Correlations between obesity and several environmental factors collected at school were studied. Segmental analysis was used to estimate risk factors. Risk factors for obesity between the age of five and ten were as follows: having only one parent; being the only child or the last-born in a two-parent family; having parents of southern European origin. At 5 years of age, children from North African countries tended to be less obese, while among the French and southern European children, the father's non-manual occupation constituted a risk factor.