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Risk factors of obesity in preschool children in China: a population-based case–control study

International Journal of Obesity volume 24, pages 1528–1536 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify the risk factors of obesity in preschool children in China.

DESIGN: A nationwide case—control study in eight cities in China.

SUBJECTS: A total of 748 boys and 574 girls (age 0.1–6.9 y), including the obese and non-obese. One obese child was matched with one non-obese child by sex and age.

MEASUREMENTS: Weight, height and other measurements were taken for all the subjects. The information on child activity, feeding pattern and family background was collected by our study team from the parents and the kindergarten teacher.

RESULTS: Birth weight ≥ 4.0 kg, high eating speed, obesity among the child's relatives ≥ 25%, mother's body mass index (BMI)>25 kg/m2 and father's BMI>25 kg/m2 were identified as the major significant (P<0.05) risk factors of obesity in preschool children in China.

CONCLUSION: Family history of obesity, high birth weight and eating speed were identified as the risk factors of obesity in preschool children in China. Our results show the need for family therapy as part of an intervention program for childhood obesity, which includes behavior modification.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR and Beijing Children's Hospital, Beijing, PR China. We greatly appreciate the efforts of the staff who worked on the data collection, and Mr James Thorburn for his comments on the English of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Q He & J Karlberg

  2. Beijing Research Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing Children's Hospital, Beijing, China

    Q He & ZY Ding

  3. Clinical Trials Centre, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    DYT Fong & J Karlberg

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  1. Q He
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  2. ZY Ding
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  4. J Karlberg
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Correspondence to J Karlberg.

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He, Q., Ding, Z., Fong, D. et al. Risk factors of obesity in preschool children in China: a population-based case–control study. Int J Obes 24, 1528–1536 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801394

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