Prevalence of Obesity and Elevated Blood Pressure as well as Onset of Puberty in German School Children Attending Different Educational Tracks

Abstract

Background:Obesity and associated comorbidities are increasingly evident in adolescents. This cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between educational level and prevalence of obesity, comorbidities, and onset of puberty in German schoolchildren. Subjects and Methods: 1,488 children from Leipzig attending different types of schools (‘Hauptschule’ or ‘Realschule’, HR, vs. ‘Gymnasium’, GYM) were examined for indices of obesity, pubertal stage and blood pressure. Results: Subjects attending HR had markedly increased body fat compared to age- and gender-matched peers attending GYM. Higher BMIs seen in children attending HR were associated with an earlier onset of puberty. The differences in body fat mass persisted after adjustment for puberty. In addition, children attending HR had higher systolic blood pressure compared to their age- and gender matched peers. This effect vanished when adjusting for BMI. Conclusion:Educational level affects the risk to develop obesity and associated comorbidities already at school age. The strong relationship between the educational track attended and increased BMI as well as elevated blood pressure in schoolchildren implies that comprehensive prevention activities should start already in school age and should be implemented in all educational establishments to target the increasing epidemic of childhood obesity.

Overweight/obesity and hypertension in schoolchildren aged 6–16 years, Aden governorate, Yemen, 2009

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Age-specific stabilization in obesity prevalence in German children: A cross-sectional study from 1999 to 2008

“…Prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity varies in industrialized countries between 15 and 35%, and the global epidemic has been increasing during the past decades (1–7). Metabolic and cardiovascular co‐morbidities of obesity are increasingly seen in young children, as by the age of 10 years, 60% of overweight children have at least one biochemical or clinical cardiovascular risk factor and 25% have more than two (8,9).…”

Associação entre risco cardiovascular e hipertensão arterial em professores universitários

“…Esse achado encontrase em consonância com alguns estudos nacionais (BARBOSA et al, 2008;COSTA et al, 2007;JARDIM et al, 2007;LONGO et al, 2009;. Níveis elevados de IMC, CA e %G estão associados a hábitos sedentários e ao desequilíbrio nutricional (GELBRICH, BLÜHER, REICH, MÜLLER & KIESS, 2008). Desta forma, uma intervenção através de aumento dos níveis de atividade física diária, prática de exercícios físicos regulares e controle da ingestão calórica podem impactar positivamente esses fatores, diminuindo sua participação na gênese da HAS.…”