Decreasing trends in overweight and obesity among an Australian population of preschool children

Abstract

Background: After several decades of increasing prevalence, recent evidence suggests a levelling of obesity rates in some groups, although little is known about trends in children under 5 years of age. Aim: To investigate the prevalence, trends and sociodemographic correlates of overweight and obesity in Australian preschool children between 1999 and 2007. Methods: Child anthropometric and demographic data were extracted from records of routine maternal and child health consultations for children aged 2 and 3.5 years in the Australian state of Victoria. Data were analysed for prevalence of overweight and obesity (according to International Obesity Task Force definitions), trends in prevalence from 1999 to 2007 and sociodemographic correlates of prevalence and trends. Results: Complete data were available for 129 266 2-year-old children and 96 164 3.5-year-old children from 41 local government areas across Victoria. Combined prevalence of overweight and obesity decreased significantly between 1999 and 2007 in 3.5-year-old children (by 3.1% points from 18.5 to 15.4%) and in 2-year-old children (1.1% point decrease from 13.5 to 12.4%). There was no accompanying increase in rates of underweight. Decreases were more pronounced in areas of lower socioeconomic status (SES). Prevalence of both overweight and obesity was consistently higher across time in the older group of children, in the lowest quartile of SES and among girls. Conclusions: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool children in Victoria has decreased significantly between 1999 and 2007, whereas socioeconomic disparities have narrowed. Further research is needed to understand the reasons for the decreasing prevalence, and to better evaluate existing and emerging health promotion initiatives. Such evidence will be important to build on the findings of this study and to transfer lessons learnt to other population groups.

Decreased Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the Newfoundland and Labrador Preschool Population

“…In fact, a small but significant decline in the combined rate of overweight and obesity between 2001/02 to 2009/10 was observed. This decrease is similar to that reported for children in several other countries including Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States [5][6][7][8][9][10] and in Canada for older children. 23 Stabilization of the prevalence of overweight and obesity was found among boys and girls.…”

Trends in Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Danish Infants, Children and Adolescents – Are We Still on a Plateau?

“…Most countries have experienced an increased prevalence of overweight and obesity during the past few decades [1–4,11], but recent data suggest that the prevalence has stabilized or even decreased, as observed in Australia, the US and several European countries [5,8–10]. With the results of this study based on Danish data, we contribute to the growing evidence of the levelling off in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents that now seems to be occurring simultaneously in many parts of the world [5].…”

“…Childhood overweight and obesity rates continue to rise in some countries like Mexico, India, China, Canada and Vietnam [5,6], but within the last decades the prevalence has plateaued in several European countries, in the US and in Australia [5,7,8]. Some studies have even reported a decrease in the prevalence [5,9,10]. In Denmark, the picture has been similar with an increase followed by a levelling off from year 2000 and onwards in the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity [5,11,12].…”

Family Environment and Childhood Obesity: A New Framework with Structural Equation Modeling

“…The influence of socioeconomic status as an independent determinant or mediator of behaviour further adds intricacy to our understanding of obesity and related behaviours [16,17]. Some studies suggest that family food security level and its output as well as the child’s health are antecedents of childhood obesity [8].…”