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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
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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