Assessment of the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-age children in Samara

Purpose: Assessment of the prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-age children in Samara. Material and methods. Medical checkup of 1503 schoolchildren aged from 7 to 14 years old was performed. The authors assessed anthropometric indicators, calculated body mass index, and standard deviation score. Diagnosis of overweight or obesity was based on the analysis of the indicators according to the criteria of the World Health Organization. Results. The prevalence of overweight among schoolchildren in Samara made up 20.9% and obesity was observed in 13.5%. The prevalence of obesity among boys was significantly higher than in girls (63.58% vs 39.48%, respectively). The peak debut of obesity occurs at an early school age. In the study group, obesity of 1st degree was most common (67.2% of obese children). A comparison of the obtained data with previous studies revealed that the prevalence of obesity increased dramatically over the past fifteen years (from 3.6% to 13.5%). The prevalence of overweight has also increased from 10.6% to 20.9%. Conclusion. Considering the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-age children, this problem should remain one of the priorities for the Samara region.