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Stability in the prevalence of Swedish children who were overweight or obese in 2003 and 2011
Author(s) -
Munter Jeroen S.,
Friedl Andrea,
Lind Simon,
Kark Malin,
Carlberg Magdalena,
Andersson Niklas,
Georgellis Antonis,
Rasmussen Finn
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.13351
Subject(s) - medicine , overweight , obesity , pediatrics , environmental health , demography , sociology
Aim We aimed to explore the prevalence and determinants of overweight including obesity among children in Sweden in 2003 and 2011. Methods Two population‐based cross‐sectional surveys included 7728 and 12 882 12‐year‐old children in Sweden, and 1198 and 2699 eight‐year‐old children in Stockholm County, in 2003 and 2011. Weighted prevalence of overweight including obesity and multivariate‐adjusted relative risks ( RR s) with 95% confidence intervals ( CI s) was calculated. Results In 2011, the overweight prevalence was lower for 12‐year‐old girls than boys ( RR =0.84, CI =0.77–0.92), lower for girls and boys with a higher rather than a lower educated mother (for example, RR girls =0.76, CI =0.65–0.88), but higher for girls and boys in smaller rather than main cities ( RR girls =1.52, CI =1.28–1.82). There was no difference in overweight prevalence between 2003 and 2011 among the 12‐year‐old children. However, eight‐year‐old girls had a lower overweight prevalence in 2011 than in 2003 ( RR =0.76, CI =0.59–0.97). The strongest decrease in overweight was among eight‐year‐old girls with mothers with lower levels of education ( RR =0.63, CI =0.47–0.86). Conclusion The prevalence of overweight including obesity was stable among Swedish children between 2003 and 2011. Gradients in the determinants of overweight persisted. There was some evidence of a less steep socio‐economic gradient in overweight in eight‐year‐old girls over time.