Comparison of three criterions for obesity and over-weight screening among primary and middle school students

ObjectiveTo explore prevalences of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Jinshan district of Shanghai city from 2007 to 2011 and to compare the three evaluation criterions for obesity and overweight screening for choosing appropriate criteria.MethodsData on physical examination of students in 4 primary,3 junior high,and 3 senior high schools from 2007 to 2011 were collected and overweight and obesity students were screened with three criterions.ResultsThe rates of overweight and obesity were increasing.The rates of overweight for the boys according to the weight-for-height standard in 1985 and 2000,and body mass index(BMI) criteria were 12.89%,6.29%,and 15.02%,respectively,and the rates of obesity for the boys were 16.73%,17.54%,and 9.47%,respectively.While the rates of overweight in the girls by the three criterions were 10.75%,6.42%,and 9.29% and the rates of obesity in the girls were 8.77%,12.02%,and 4.74%,respectively.The Kappa values for obesity screening in the boys and girls between the weight-for-height standards of 1985 and 2000 were 0.86 and 0.77,and the Kappa values for obesity screening in the boys and girls between the weight-for-height in 1985 standard and BMI were 0.63 and 0.66,and the Kappa values for obesity screening in the boys and girls between the weight-for-height standard of 2000 and BMI were 0.65 and 0.51,respectively.ConclusionThe problem of overweight and obesity is serious among primary and middle school students in Shanghai city.The differences in the prevalences of overweight and obesity according to the 3 standards are significant and national reference value needs to be developed.