Preventing childhood overweight and obesity
Journal Title: Jornal de Pediatria - Year 2015, Vol 91, Issue 2
Abstract
Childhood obesity is widely recognized as a major public health problem of global significance.1 In Latin America, the ever-rising rates of overweight and obesity observed over the past three decades have not spared children and adolescents. The most recent data estimate that between 42.4 and 51.8 million children and adolescents (0-18 years) are overweight or obese, representing 20-25% of the total population of children and adolescents in the region.2 In children younger than 5 years, the estimated prevalence of overweight and obesity based on the WHO Child Growth Standards3 was reported to be 6.9% (95% CI: 5.8-8.0%) in 2010.4 In school-aged children, national combined prevalences of overweight and obesity reported in the last five years using the WHO growth reference5 ranged from 18.9% in Colombia (both genders) to 36.9% in Mexican boys.2 Although not available for the past five years, prevalences in Brazil (2009) and in Chile (1997) were almost as high as those found in 2012 in Mexico, suggesting that the magnitude of excess BMI in these two countries is similar to or even higher than in Mexico.2
Authors and Affiliations
Mercedes de Onis
Keywords
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- EP ID EP560344
- DOI 10.1016/j.jped.2014.10.002
- Views 43
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