2nd Pediatric Discipline, Mother and Child Department, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
2nd Pediatric Clinic, Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children, 400177 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 13;18(10):5176. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18105176.
During the last three decades, there has been an excess weight epidemic due to changes in nutrition and lifestyle. Few data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children in Romania were published, without a single study representative at the national level. There are reports on the higher level of overweight and obesity in urban areas compared to rural ones. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and severe obesity in children enrolled in schools from the urban area.
For this cross-sectional study, children from 177 schools from the urban area of five counties from the northwestern part of Romania were included after the parents signed written informed consent. Anthropometric data were recorded (weight, height) based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and Body-Mass-Index (BMI), and the z-score for BMI were calculated. The nutritional status was estimated using three reference criteria: WHO, International Obesity Task Force (IOTC) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
We analyzed data of 21,650 children (48.19% boys) age between 7 and 18 years. The prevalence of overweight was 13.8%, 16.2% and 20.3%, of obesity was 10.7%, 10.0% and 5.7% and of severe obesity was 5.1%, 1.2% and 1.6% (using WHO, CDC and IOTF cut-offs). Underweight was present in 5.2% (WHO), 6% (CDC) and 2.6% (IOTF). The highest prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was found in children aged 10 years, and the lowest in adolescents at 18 years. Boys have a higher prevalence of excess weight than girls. Using IOTF cut-offs, the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity was lower than using WHO criteria.
The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in children from the urban area of Western Romania was recorded at alarming levels, higher in boys and at the pre-puberty ages. There are significant differences based on the reference system used. It is important to correctly choose the reference for the definition of overweight and obesity to have the correct estimation of the target for public health measures.
在过去的三十年中，由于营养和生活方式的改变，出现了超重肥胖的流行。罗马尼亚发表的有关儿童超重和肥胖流行的数据很少，而且没有一项研究具有全国代表性。有报道称，城市地区的超重和肥胖水平高于农村地区。本研究旨在评估西北部五个县城市地区学校儿童的消瘦、超重、肥胖和严重肥胖的患病率。
这项横断面研究纳入了罗马尼亚西北部五个县的 177 所学校的儿童，父母签署了书面知情同意书。根据世界卫生组织（WHO）的建议记录了儿童的人体测量数据（体重、身高），并计算了体重指数（BMI）的 z 分数。使用三种参考标准（WHO、国际肥胖工作组（IOTC）和疾病控制和预防中心（CDC））来估计营养状况。
我们分析了 21650 名 7 至 18 岁儿童的数据（48.19%为男孩）。超重的患病率分别为 13.8%、16.2%和 20.3%，肥胖的患病率分别为 10.7%、10.0%和 5.7%，严重肥胖的患病率分别为 5.1%、1.2%和 1.6%（使用 WHO、CDC 和 IOTC 切点）。消瘦的患病率分别为 5.2%（WHO）、6%（CDC）和 2.6%（IOTC）。超重（包括肥胖）的最高患病率见于 10 岁儿童，最低见于 18 岁青少年。男孩超重的患病率高于女孩。使用 IOTC 切点时，肥胖和严重肥胖的患病率低于使用 WHO 标准。
罗马尼亚西部地区城市地区儿童的超重（包括肥胖）患病率达到了令人担忧的水平，男孩和青春期前儿童的患病率更高。基于所使用的参考系统，存在显著差异。正确选择超重和肥胖定义的参考标准对于公共卫生措施的正确目标估计非常重要。
