Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Pediatric Highlight
  • Published:

Overweight, obesity and girth of Australian preschoolers: prevalence and socio-economic correlates

Abstract

Objective:

(1) To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australian 4–5-year-old children. (2) To investigate associations between socio-economic characteristics and (a) overweight/obesity and (b) waist circumference.

Design:

Cross-sectional population survey.

Setting:

Wave 1 (2004) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

Participants:

Nationally representative sample of 4983 4–5-year-old children (2537 boys and 2446 girls; mean age 56.9 months (s.d. 2.64 months; range 51–67 months)).

Main outcome measures:

Prevalence of overweight and obesity (International Obesity TaskForce definitions) and waist circumference (cm).

Analysis:

Prevalence estimates were obtained as weighted percentages. Uni- and multivariable ordinal logistic regression (using the proportional odds model) were used to assess associations between potential predictors and the risk of higher child body mass index status and a multivariable linear regression model to assess relationships between the same potential predictors and waist circumference.

Results:

15.2% of Australian preschoolers are estimated to be overweight and 5.5% obese. In univariate analyses, seven of the 12 variables were associated with higher odds of being in a heavier body mass index category. In a multivariable regression model, speaking a language other than English (particularly for boys), indigenous status and lower disadvantage quintile were the clearest independent predictors of higher body mass index status, with children in the lowest quintile of social disadvantage having 47% higher odds (95% CI 14, 92%) of being in a heavier body mass index category compared to those in the highest quintile. Waist circumference was not related to any socio-economic variable.

Conclusions:

This nationally representative survey confirms high rates of overweight and obesity in preschoolers throughout Australia. The recent emergence of a substantial socio-economic gradient should bring new urgency to public health measures to combat the obesity epidemic.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Stamatakis E, Primatesta P, Chinn S, Rona R, Falascheti E . Overweight and obesity trends from 1974 to 2003 in English children: what is the role of socio-economic factors? Arch Dis Child 2005; 90: 999–1004.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johαnson CL . Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. JAMA 2002; 288: 1728–1732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Reilly JJ, Dorosty AR, Emmett PM . Prevalence of overweight and obesity in British children: cohort study. BMJ 1999; 319: 1039.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Magarey AM, Daniels LA, Boulton TH . Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australian children and adolescents: reassessment of 1985 and 1995 data against new standard international definitions. Med J Aust 2001; 174: 561–564.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Bundred P, Kitchiner D, Buchan I . Prevalence of overweight and obese children between 1989 and 1998: population based series of cross sectional studies. BMJ 2001; 322: 326–328.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Luo J, Hu FB . Time trends of obesity in pre-school children in China from 1989–1997. Int J Obes 2002; 26: 553–558.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hesketh K, Wake M, Waters E, Carlin J, Crawford D . Stability of BMI in Australian children: a prospective cohort study across the middle childhood years. Pub Health Nutrition 2004; 7: 303–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH . Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ 2000; 320: 1240–1243.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ogden CL, Kuczmarski RJ, Flegal KM, Mei Z, Guo S, Wei R et al. Centers for disease control and prevention 2000 growth charts for the United States: improvements to the 1977 National Center for Health Statistics version. Pediatrics 2002; 109: 45–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Goran MI, Gower BA, Treuth M, Nagy TR . Prediction of intra-abdominal adipose tissue in healthy pre-pubertal children. Int J Obes 1998; 22: 549–558.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Wahrenberg H, Hertel K, Leijonhufvud B-M, Persson L-G, Toft E, Arner P . Use of waist circumference to predict insulin resistance: retrospective study. BMJ 2005; 330: 1363–1364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. McCarthy HD, Ellis SM, Cole TJ . Central overweight and obesity in British youth aged 11–16 years: cross sectional surveys of waist circumference. BMJ 2003; 326: 624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. McCarthy HD, Jarrett KV, Emmett PM, Rogers I . Trends in waist circumferences in young British children: a comparative study. Int J Obes 2005; 29: 157–162.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. McCarthy HD, Jarrett KV, Crawley HF . The development of waist circumference percentiles in British children aged 5.0–16.9 years. Europ J Clin Nutr 2001; 55: 902–907.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Katzmarsyk PT . Waist circumference percentiles for Canadian youth 11–18 years of age. Europ J Clin Nutrition 2004; 58: 1011–1015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Zannolli R, Morgese G . Waist percentiles: a simple test for atherogenic disease? Acta Paediatr 1996; 85: 1368–1369.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Moreno LA, Fleta J, Mur L, Rodriguez G, Sarria A, Bueno M . Waist circumference values in Spanish children – gender related differences. Europ J Clin Nutrition 1999; 53: 429–433.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Savva SC, Kourides Y, Tornaritis M, Epiphaniou-Savva M, Tafouna P, Kafatos A . Reference growth curves for Cypriot children 6 to 17 years of age. Obes Res 2001; 9: 754–762.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Fernandez JR, Redden DT, Pietrobelli A, Allison DB . Waist circumference percentiles in nationally representative samples of African-American, European-American, and Mexican-American children and adolescents. J Pediatr 2004; 145: 439–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Sobal J, Stunkard AJ . Socio-economic status and obesity: a review of the literature. Psych Bulletin 1989; 105: 260–275.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Ball K, Crawford D . Socio-economic status and weight change in adults: a review. Soc Sci Med 2004; 60: 1987–2010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. National Health Medical Research Council. Clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. NHMRC. ISBN 864961 90 2 Commonwealth of Australia 2003. Canberra, ACT.

  23. Booth ML, Wake M, Armstrong T, Chey T, Hesketh K, Mathur S . The epidemiology of overweight and obesity among Australian children and adolescents, 1995–1997. Aust NZ J Pub Health 2001; 25: 162–169.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Reilly JJ, Armstrong J, Dorosty AR, Emmett PM, Ness A, Rogers I et al. Early life risk factors for obesity in childhood: cohort study. BMJ 2005; 330: 1357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Soloff C, Lawrence D, Johnstone R . LSAC technical paper number 1: Sample design, 2005, http://www.aifs.gov.au/growingup/pubs/techpapers/tp1.pdf.

  26. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing The Global Epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity. Geneva, 3–5 June 1997. WHO: Geneva, 1998.

  27. Common Wealth of Australia. Australian Standard Classification of Occupations, Second edition (ABS cat. no. 1220.0). ISBN 0 642 23200 8. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, Australia, 1997.

  28. Australian Bureau of Statistics. AusStats 6523.0 Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia 2003-04 (Appendix 3). Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra, Australia, 2005.

  29. Australian bureau of statistics, Commonwealth of Australia. Socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA) Volume 1.1. Australian bureau of statistics: Canberra, Australia, 2001.

  30. Royston P . Multiple imputation of missing values. Stata J 2004; 4: 227–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Korn EL, Graubard BI . Simultaneous testing of regression coefficients with complex survey data: Use of Bonferroni t statistics. Am Stat 1990; 44: 270–276.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Little RJA, Rubin DB . Statistical Analysis with Missing Data, 2nd edn. Wiley: New York, 2002, pp 209–212.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  33. Brant R . Assessing proportionality in the proportional odds model for ordinal logistic regression. Biometrics 1990; 46: 1171–1178.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Vaska VL, Volmer R . Increasing prevalence of obesity in South Australian 4–year-olds: 1995-2002. J Paediatr Child Health 2004; 40: 353–355.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Mei Z, Scanlon KS, Grummer-Strawn LM, Freedman DS, Yip R, Trowbridge FL . Increasing prevalence of overweight among US low-income preschool children: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance, 1983–1995. Pediatrics 1998; 101: 12–18 URL: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/101/1/e12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Feese M, Franklin F, Murdock M, Harrington K, Brown-Binns M . Prevalence of obesity in children in Alabama and Texas participating in social programs. JAMA 2003; 289: 1780–1781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Strauss R, Pollack HA . Epidemic increase in childhood overweight, 1986–1998. JAMA 2001; 286: 2845–2848.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Bundred P, Kitchiner D, Buchan I . Prevalence of overweight and obese children between 1989 and 1998: population based series of cross sectional studies. BMJ 2001; 322: 326.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. O'Dea J . Differences in overweight and obesity among Australian schoolchildren of low and middle/high socio-economic status. Med J Aust 2003; 179: 63 (Letter).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Datar A, Sturm R, Magnabosco JL . Childhood overweight and academic performance: National study of kindergartners and first-graders. Obes Res 2004; 12: 58–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Rappaport EB, Robbins JM . Overweight in Southeastern Pennsylvania children: 2002 household health survey data. Public Health Reports 2005; 120: 525–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL . Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. JAMA 2002; 288: 1728–1732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Armstrong J, Dorosty AR, Reilly JJ, Child Health Information Team, Emmett PM . Coexistence of social inequalities in undernutrition and obesity in preschool children: population based cross sectional study. Arch Dis Child 2003; 88: 671–675.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Kuepper-Nybelen J, Lamerz A, Bruning N, Hebebrand J, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Brenner H . Major differences in prevalence of overweight according to nationality in preschool children living in Germany: determinants and public health implications. Arch Dis Child 2005; 90: 359–363.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Danielzik S, Czerwinski-Mast M, Langnase K, Dilba B, Muller MJ . Parental overweight, socio-economic status and high birth weight are the major determinants of overweight and obesity in 5–7 y-old children: baseline data of the Kiel Obesity Prevention Study (KOPS). Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004; 28: 1494–1502.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Romon M, Duhamel A, Collinet N, Weill J . Influence of social class on time trends in BMI distribution in 5–year-old French children from 1989 to 1999. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2005; 29: 54–59.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Lamerz A, Kuepper-Nybelen J, Wehle C, Bruning N, Trost-Brinkhues G, Brenner H et al. Social class, parental education, and obesity prevalence in a study of six-year-old children in Germany. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2005; 29: 373–380.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Dennison BA, Erb TA, Jenkins PL . Television viewing and television in bedroom associated with overweight risk among low-income preschool children. Pediatrics 2002; 109: 1028–1035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Ellaway A, Macintyre S, Bonnefoy X . Graffiti, greenery, and obesity in adults: secondary analysis of European cross sectional survey. BMJ 2005; 331: 611–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper uses confidentialized unit record files from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) survey. The LSAC project was initiated and is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is managed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to either FaCSIA or the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Analysis and writing of this paper was funded by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant 334308. We thank all the parents and children who took part in wave 1 of LSAC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Wake.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wake, M., Hardy, P., Canterford, L. et al. Overweight, obesity and girth of Australian preschoolers: prevalence and socio-economic correlates. Int J Obes 31, 1044–1051 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803503

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803503

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links