Objective  To examine physical characteristics of primary and high school students aged 7 – 18 years in Sichuan province and to provide references for developing health care strategies by relevant institutions.

  Methods  Using cluster sampling, we recruited 25 937 students aged 7 – 18 years from 110 primary and high schools in 21 municipalities/prefectures in Sichuan province in 2018. The height and weight of the students were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all the students to analyze prevalence of overweight and obesity.

  Results  For all the students, the average height and weight were 149.35 ± 16.27 centimeters 43.54 ± 14.31 kilograms; the average height and weight of urban students were significantly higher than those of the rural students (both P < 0.05); for the students aged 13 years and above, the average height and weight of the boys were significantly higher than those of the girls (both P < 0.05). Among all the students, the overall detection rate of overweight and obesity were 11.61% and 7.63% and the two detection rates were significantly higher among the boy students than among the girl students (both P < 0.05); the detection rate of overweight and obesity decreased with the increment of age in the students, especially among the girl students.

  Conclusion  Among 7 – 18 years old primary and high school students in Sichuan province, the height and weight are at normal level and the urban students have higher height and weight than the rural students; but the detection rate of overweight and obesity are relatively high and similar to those among the students in big cities.