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A five-year trend of increasing obesity among elementary schoolchildren in multiethnic, low-income, inner-city neighborhoods in Montreal, Canada

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of overweight and obesity over 5 y among inner-city elementary schoolchildren aged 10–12 y in multiethnic, low-income neighborhoods in Montreal, Canada.

DESIGN: Height and weight of all students in grades 4–6 in 16 control schools participating in an evaluation of the impact of a school-based heart health promotion program, were measured each May/June from 1993 to 1997 in cross-sectional classroom-based school surveys.

RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight (≥85th age- and gender-specific percentile for body mass index (BMI) from NHANES I and II) was 35.9% in 1993; it increased by approximately 1.3% per year. The prevalence of obesity (≥95th age- and gender-specific percentile for BMI from NHANES I and II) was 15.9% in 1993; it increased by approximately 1.0% per year. In multivariate models predicting overweight and obesity, the odds ratios for year adjusted for age, sex, and family ethnic origin were 1.08 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–1.12), and 1.09 (95%CI, 1.04–1.15), respectively.

CONCLUSION: There were significant secular trends of increasing overweight and obesity among young inner-city schoolchildren from the early to late 1990s. Preventive intervention is clearly indicated because childhood obesity tracks to adulthood and because obesity is associated with substantial morbidity, mortality and health care costs.

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Acknowledgements

This research was conducted as part of the Project québécoise de démonstration en santé du coeur, which was financed by the National Health Research and Development Program, Health Canada (grant no. 66053754-H), the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Quebec Heart and Stroke Foundation. Jennifer O'Loughlin is a National Health Research Scholar.

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O'Loughlin, J., Paradis, G., Meshefedjian, G. et al. A five-year trend of increasing obesity among elementary schoolchildren in multiethnic, low-income, inner-city neighborhoods in Montreal, Canada. Int J Obes 24, 1176–1182 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801362

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