Trends and predictors of overweight and obesity in East German children

OBJECTIVE: Childhood overweight and obesity seem to be increasing at an alarming rate throughout the Western world. During the 1990's, tremendous socioeconomic changes have taken place in East Germany, and studies about the prevalence and trends of childhood overweight and obesity in Central Eastern European countries are rare. Therefore, we analyzed trends in overweight and obesity in East German school children. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: We examined 5- to 7-y-old school entrants, 8- to 10-y-old third graders and sixth-grade school children aged 11-14 y in three consecutive surveys performed in 1992-93, 1995-96, and 1998-99 in Eastern Germany. In total, we received 7611 questionnaires. Information about height and weight was available for 6650 children. RESULTS: Overweight and obesity showed a significant increasing trend for 11- to 14-y and 8- to 10-y-old children but not for the school entrants aged 5- 7 y. After adjustment for age, sex, season and area, the risk of being overweight in 1998-99 compared to 1992-93 was 1.6 (CI 1.4-1.9) and 1.9 (CI 1.4-2.5) for obesity, respectively. Low birth weight and higher parental education were protective factors for overweight and obesity. Breast feeding was protective with regard to obesity. This effect was stronger if the children were exclusively breast-fed. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our data provide further evidence that the prevalence of overweight and obesity increases. These results might suggest that preventive actions should start as early as possible and children from disadvantaged families might be considered as a susceptible subgroup.