Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess change in abdominal obesity in adolescents in England. STUDY DESIGN: Health Survey for England (HSE), annual cross-sectional surveys of nationally representative samples in England. METHODS: This study included 1770 children aged 11-16 years in HSE 2005-2007 with valid waist circumference (WC) measurements. WC and body mass index (BMI) were expressed as standard deviation scores (z scores) against the growth references used for British children. RESULTS: Mean WC z scores were substantially higher than mean BMI z scores for both sexes: WC 1.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93-1.1], BMI 0.54 (95% CI 0.44-0.63) for boys; WC 1.3 (95% CI 1.2-1.4), BMI 0.48 (95% CI 0.40-0.56) for girls (both P <0.001). Mean WC z score was higher for girls than boys (P <0.001). Between 1997 and 2005-2007, WC increased for both boys (P <0.01) and girls (P <0.001), but BMI did not (P > 0.05). Only children in the lowest WC decile had an increase in WC z score less than +1 standard deviation compared with the 1977-1987 baseline. BMI z score increased across the top nine deciles of the BMI distribution by 0.4 (2nd-4th deciles) to 0.9 (top decile). CONCLUSIONS: WC in adolescents has increased substantially, and probably more than BMI. The whole population has become fatter.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 695-701 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Public Health |
Volume | 126 |
Issue number | 8 |
Early online date | 15 Jul 2012 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2012 |
Keywords
- Adolescent Body Mass Index Child England Female Humans Longitudinal Studies Male Obesity, Abdominal/*epidemiology *Waist Circumference