Analyses of the prevalence changes of overweight and obesity in Han students in Beijing,1995-2005

Objective To analyze the prevalence changes of overweight and obesity in Han students in Beijing from 1995 to 2005, in order to provide evidence for development of preventive measures against obesity. Methods Beijing students aged 7 to 18 participated in the 1995, 2000 and 2005 National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health were selected as subjects. The newly established BMI screening criteria for overweight and obesity was used to analyze the prevalence among various populations. Results The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased quickly from 1995 to 2005. The overweight prevalence rates in 2005 among urban boys, rural boys, urban girls and rural girls were 21.8 %, 10.8 %, 11.3 % and 8.6 %, respectivcly, and were higher than those in 1995 and 2000. Meanwhile, the prevalence rates of obesity for the urban boys, rural boys, urban girls and rural girls were 13.7 %, 8.4 %, 7.1 % and 4.8 % in 2005, 6.5 %, 1.9 %, 3.7 % and 1.3 % in 1995, and 10.0 %, 3.5 %, 5.2 % and 2.4 %, in 2000, respectively. The prevalence rates of overweight and Obesity were higher among children aged 10-12 than those among other age groups in 2005. The ordinal regression showed that different years (1995, 2000 or 2005) was the independent influence factors on overweight and obesity in Beijing students after controlling for living areas(in urban area or not), age and gender. Conclusion The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity increased rapidly and spread from urban to rural areas among students in Beijing, therefore, there is no time to delay to take comprehensive measures to prevent and control the obesity of youth in Beijing.