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. 2022 May 11;22(1):941.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13302-w.

Trends of overweight and obesity among preschool children from 2013 to 2018: a cross-sectional study in Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg, Germany

Weina Liu  1   2 , Mike Z He  3 , Peter Dambach  1 , Rainer Schwertz  4 , Simiao Chen  5   6 , Fengyun Yu  1   7 , Michael Marx  1
Affiliations

Trends of overweight and obesity among preschool children from 2013 to 2018: a cross-sectional study in Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg, Germany

Weina Liu et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Early childhood overweight and obesity is a growing public health concern worldwide. Few recent studies have addressed how time trends varied by sociodemographic characteristics at the regional level using large and high-quality data. This study determines how time trends vary in the prevalence of early childhood overweight and obesity by age, gender, and migration background at the regional level.

Methods: We used a Kernel-density curve to describe the BMI distribution, and evaluated the trends of overweight and obesity by age, gender, and migration background using logistic regression.

Results: Mean BMI and the overall prevalence of overweight and obesity increased among preschool children aged 4-6 years in the Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg. After adjusting for age, sex, and migration background, trends of overweight significantly increased only among male children in the age 5 year group with migration background (P < 0.05), and an upward trend of obesity was observed only among male children in the age 5 year group and female children in the age 6 year group with migration background (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: BMI distribution as well as general prevalence of overweight and obesity are still increasing among preschool children. Children with migration backgrounds, particularly male children in the age 5 year groups and female children in the age 6 year group should be prioritized. Health promotion strategies for children with migration backgrounds will help address this challenge.

Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Migration background; Preschool children; Trends of overweight and obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution change of body mass index among male (a) and female (b) preschool children
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The trend of overweight and obesity from 2013 to 2018. a The general trend. b,c The trend adjusted by sex. d,e The trend adjusted by sex,age. f,g,h,i The trend adjusted by sex,age and migration background
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