Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 14;18(4):1842.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041842.

Reversal of the Upward Trend of Obesity in Boys, but Not in Girls, in Spain

Romana Albaladejo-Vicente  1 , Rosa Villanueva-Orbaiz  1 , David Carabantes-Alarcon  1 , Juana Santos-Sancho  1 , Rodrigo Jiménez-García  1 , Enrique Regidor  1   2
Affiliations

Reversal of the Upward Trend of Obesity in Boys, but Not in Girls, in Spain

Romana Albaladejo-Vicente et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Background: To compare the prevalence of overweight and obesity in boys and girls and to estimate socioeconomic differences associated with obesity in Spain in 1997, 2007, and 2017. (2) Methods: Data were drawn from national health interview surveys. For each year of study, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was measured, and these results were compared by gender (boy/girl) and socioeconomic status (low/high education). (3) Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity rose from 1997 to 2007 but then fell in 2017 in all subgroups except in girls aged 10 to 15 years. In this group, there was a steady increase in the prevalence of both overweight (1997, 14.6%; 2007, 17.7%; 2017, 19.6%) and obesity (1.1, 3.2, and 3.7%, respectively). The decrease in prevalence of overweight in both sexes and of obesity in boys, along with the increase in prevalence of obesity in girls, was of a higher magnitude in children whose parents had a lower educational level. (4) Conclusions: The apparent turnaround in the obesity epidemic in Spain should be interpreted with caution. Children's body weight is influenced by both gender and socioeconomic status-considerations that should be kept in mind when designing health promotion interventions.

Keywords: children; diabetes; obesity; overweight; prevalence; prevention; surveys.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of overweight in boys and girls aged 5 to 15 years, Spain (1997, 2007, and 2017).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of obesity in boys and girls aged 5 to 15 years, Spain (1997, 2007, and 2017).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hernández-Cordero S., Cuevas-Nasu L., Morán-Ruán M.C., Humaran I.M.G., Ávila-Arcos M.A., Rivera-Dommarco J.A. Overweight and obesity in Mexican children and adolescents during the last 25 years. Nutr. Diabetes. 2017;7:e247. doi: 10.1038/nutd.2016.52. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Joint WHO/FAO . Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Disease 2002. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2003. (WHO Technical Report Series 916).
    1. Hamřík Z., Sigmundová D., Pavelka J., Kalman M., Sigmund E. Trends in Overweight and Obesity in Czech Schoolchildren from 1998 to 2014. Cent. Eur. J. Public Health. 2017;25:S10–S14. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a5099. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sigmund E., Baďura P., Sigmundova D., Voráčová J., Zacpal J., Kalman M., Pavelka J., Vokacova J., Hobza V.J., Hamrik Z. Trends and correlates of overweight/obesity in Czech adolescents in relation to family socioeconomic status over a 12-year study period (2002–2014) BMC Public Health. 2018;18:122. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-5013-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ogden C.L., Carroll M.D., Kit B.K., Flegal K.M. Prevalence of Obesity and Trends in Body Mass Index among US Children and Adolescents, 1999-2010. JAMA. 2012;307:483–490. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.40. - DOI - PMC - PubMed