Prevalence and correlates of overweight and obesity among adolescents in northeastern China: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of overweight/obesity
among adolescents and to evaluate the associated factors in this group in
Changchun City, northeastern China. Methods: A cross-sectional study of
1955 adolescents aged 11–18 years was conducted in Changchun City, using
stratified cluster sampling. Parents and caregivers of children completed
the questionnaires as requested without objection; the questionnaire
included demographic characteristics and anthropometric parameters.
Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to
analyze the relationship between overweight /obesity and related factors.
Results: In total, the prevalence of overweight was 12.7% (male 17.4%;
female 10.1%), and the prevalence of obesity was 4.9% (male 8.8%; female
3.1%) in Changchun, Jilin Province. The prevalence of overweight and
obesity was higher in males than that in females (P <0.001).
Multivariate logistic regression showed that overweight and obesity were
significantly associated with male sex (OR=1.91, 95% CI: 1.48-2.47),
eating fresh fruits more than two days per week (OR=1.41, 95% CI:
1.09-1.84), eating quickly (OR=1.37, 95% CI: 1.06-1.78). The students who
were not picky (OR=0.69, 95% CI: 0.53-0.90) were less likely to be
overweight. And adolescents whose father were overweight or obese
(OR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.52-0.86) or mother were overweight or obese (OR=0.72,
95% CI: 0.52-0.99) were less likely to be overweight. Conclusion: The
prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Changchun was
high in recent years. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among males
was higher than that among females. Sex, dietary habits (weekly frequency
of fruit consumption, picky eating and slowness in eating) and parental
weight were important factors for overweight and obesity in adolescents.
Further research should be conducted on the health of adolescents in China
and further intervention measures should be implemented to reduce the
prevalence of overweight/obesity.