Assessment of overweight and obesity in primary school children in Thainguyen City, Vietnam

Abstract

Overweight and obesity in children are major public health problems in most developed countries and are on the rise in many developing countries. Previous studies in Vietnam have also indicated that problem of overweight and obesity in children existed in big cities, such as, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and haiphong. Moreover, the problem mzy also be occurring in semi-urban cities in Vietnam. This study was conducted in Thainguyen city to identify the prevalence and determinant factors related to overweight and obesity in primary school children. Fourhundred and sixty children aged 9-10 years and their parents participated in this study. The results indicated that prevalence of overweight and obesity in primary school children aged 9 and 10 was 11.5% in Thainguyen city, which was lower than other cities, such as, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. This study also found out that there were statistically significant associations between overweight and obese children and BMI of mothers, BMI of fathers, practice of mothers, physical activities and attitude f children. This study indicate that, overweight and obesity are prevalent in primary school in Thainguyen city, Vietnam and both genetic and environmental factors influence overweight and obesity among school children aged 9-10 years.