To estimate the prevalence and trend of obesity in primary school-age children, obesity survey was performend in children aged 6 to 12 years(5,226 boys and 5,048 girls)in Kwangju in 1991. Obesity was defined as overweight if more than 20 per cent above the median weight for height and age(relative weight>120%). The following results were obtained: 1) The prevalence of obesity that exceeded the weight centiles at each height by more than 97th percentile was 8.78. Boys (9.70%)was not significantly higher than in girls(7.82%)(p>0.05). 2) The prevalence of obesity that exceeded the standard weight for height by more than 20% was 8.82%. Among them, 5.45% were mild obesity and 2.93% were moderate obesity and 0.44% were severe obesity. The prevalence rate of obesity was no significant differences by sex(p>0.05). 3) Regionally, the prevalence of obesity was a lower rate in Kwangiu in 1991 (8.82%)than that in Seoul in 1989(11.68%).
Child* ; Gwangju* ; Humans ; Obesity* ; Obesity, Morbid ; Overweight ; Prevalence* ; Seoul

Bariatric surgery has evolved from the surgical measure to treat morbid obesity into the epochal remedy to treat metabolic syndrome as a whole, which is represented by type 2 diabetes. Numerous clinical trials have unanimously advocated bariatric or metabolic surgery over the non-surgical interventions, demonstrating markedly superior metabolic outcomes not only in morbidly obese patients who satisfy traditional criteria for bariatric surgery (body mass index [BMI] >35kg/m²) but also in less obese or even in simply overweight patients. Nevertheless, not all the diabetic patients can achieve the most desirable outcomes, that is, diabetes remission, after metabolic surgery and candidates for metabolic surgery should be selected carefully based on the comprehensive preoperative assessment of the risk-benefit ratio. Predictors for diabetes remission after metabolic surgery can be largely classified into 2 groups based the mechanism of action; 1) indices for the preserved pancreatic beta-cell function, such as younger age, shorter duration of diabetes, and higher C-peptide level, and 2) those represent the potential reserve for reduction in insulin resistance, such as higher baseline BMI, and visceral fat area. Several prediction models for diabetes remission have been suggested by merging these predictors to guide clinicians and patients' joint decision-making process. Among them, 3 models, DiaRem, ABCD, and Individualized Metabolic Surgery (IMS) scores provide intuitive scoring systems which can be simply utilized in the routine clinical practice and have been validated in the independent external cohort. These prediction models need further validation in the various different ethnicities to ensure the universal applicability.
Bariatric Surgery ; C-Peptide ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Joints ; Obesity, Morbid ; Overweight

BACKGROUND: Abdominal obesity as measured by waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) may have stronger and inverse associations with cardiovascular (CV) health than overall obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI). However, there was some challenges for controversies. We aimed to examine the associations of WHtR and BMI with CV health among Korean children using data of the 2010-2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with the sample of 2,363 children by analyzing by gender and two-age groups (10-12 and 13-18 years). Overall obesity was categorized into 3 groups by BMI percentile: non-overweight (<85), overweight (≥85), and obesity groups (≥95). Abdominal obesity was categorized into 2 groups by WHtR: normal (<0.5) and abdominal obesity groups (≥0.5). The CV health score was defined as a z-score by calculating the sum of 7 CV factors. RESULTS: The overweight/obesity groups had significantly lower CV health scores than the normal group (P<0.05) in boys and girls aged either 10-12 years or 13-18 years after adjusting for covariates. The abdominal obesity group also showed significantly lower CV health scores than the normal group (P<0.05) in all the groups; this significant association remained significant in boys aged 13-18 years even after further adjusting for BMI category (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Among boys aged 13-18 years, abdominal obesity as measured by WHtR was significantly and inversely associated with CV health, independent of BMI category. Therefore, it should be considered to assess the level of abdominal obesity as a measure of CV health in late adolescent boys.
Adolescent ; Body Mass Index ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity* ; Risk Factors

Overweight and obesity have become a serious health issue in worldwide and Malaysia is no exception. In view that obesity is one of the leading causes of non-communicable diseases, this systematic review aimed to explore whether Malaysian are getting fatter (overweight or obesity) and rounder (abdominal obesity). Searches of the published literature were conducted using 3 databases including EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PubMed. These were limited to cross-sectional or cohort studies in Malaysia. The databases provided the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity among 15 years old and above Malaysian population from 2009 to 2015. In total, 47 articles were included in this review. Findings exhibit that the prevalence rates of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity range from 9.5% to 43.5%, 1.77% to 26.4% and 11.4% to 57.4%, respectively. Overweight is more predominant among males. However, obesity and abdominal obesity are more predominant among females. This means that more females are getting fatter and “rounder” as compared to males in Malaysia. The findings imply a lack of intervention programmes based on proper randomized controlled trials which are needed to adequately address the problem of obesity in Malaysia.
Overweight ; Obesity

Although there has been a significant increase in breast-feeding (BF) rate in Korea, it is plateaued since 2008 and still low compared with that of other countries. Because BF has been related to lower obesity prevalence in many studies and the increase in childhood obesity became evident in Korea, we wondered if a relatively lower BF rate has anything to do with this increase. Therefore, we looked into the relationship between mode & duration of BF during infancy and weight status of toddlers using the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008 through 2011. Number of 2-3 year old toddlers with complete information on BF, anthropometry and normal birth weight was 674. While 87% of them were ever-breastfed, 6.2% each of them were either obese or overweight based on the Standard Growth Chart for Korean Children. Not only the obesity prevalence was different among groups of different mode of feeding, but also the mean duration of BF was significantly longer in normal weight group (9.2 mo.) compared with obese group (5.5 mo.). Accordingly, overweight and obesity prevalence of the toddlers breast-fed for 12 months or longer was significantly lower than that of the toddlers breast-fed for less than 12 months (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.32-0.87). This study revealed that both BF and duration of BF affect the childhood obesity and, BF for 12 months or longer should be encouraged more aggressively as one of the main strategies to prevent and/or decrease childhood obesity in Korea.
Anthropometry ; Birth Weight ; Child ; Growth Charts ; Humans ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity* ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity ; Prevalence

PURPOSE: The prevalence of obesity and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) was increased in adolescents. This study was performed to observe the prevalence of elevated aminotransferase levels in adolescents and to assess the correlations between aminotransferase levels and obesity related parameters(body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist to hip ratio and insulin level). METHODS: We obtained weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference from 2,417 male and 1,219 female adolescents. Mean age was 15.7+/-0.7 years old. We measured fasting insulin, aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and alanine aminotransferase(ALT). Obese and overweight were defined as body mass indices(BMI) of more than the 95th, and 85th-94th percentiles, respectively, for age and sex. RESULTS: The number of adolescents with obesity is 324(8.9 percent). 414(11.4 percent) subjects belonged to the overweight group. The average ALT level of obese, overweight and control groups were significantly different(obese : 32.1+/-34.3 U/L, overweight : 19.6+/-13.6 U/L, control : 12.7+/-6.7 U/L, P<0.001). The average AST level was also different according to group(obese : 27.8+/-16.5 U/L, overweight : 22.8+/-8.6 U/L, control : 20.8+/-8.5 U/L, P<0.001). AST and ALT were correlated with anthropometric parameters and insulin level. After multiple regression analysis, waist circumference was the significant predictive value for AST(r=0.234, P<0.001). Waist circumference, BMI and insulin levels were significant predictive values for ALT(r=0.435, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of abnormal aminotransferase was higher in the obese and overweight groups than control group. Waist circumference was useful to predict abnormal aminotransferase le
Adolescent* ; Alanine ; Aspartic Acid ; Fasting ; Hip ; Humans ; Insulin ; Male ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity* ; Prevalence ; Waist Circumference

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Globally, it has been projected that there will be 2 billion overweight and 1 billion obese individuals by 2030. In Korea, the prevalence of adult obesity (BMI>25) increased from 29.7% in 2009 to 32.4% in 2015. Moreover, childhood obesity, which leads to adulthood obesity, has increasingly become a social problem. The purpose of this review is to summarize the scientific basis for the development of effective models and policies aimed at preventing obesity over a lifetime based on research modeling obesogenic environments. MATERIALS/METHODS: The review focuses on the characteristics of obesity prevalence and trends in 3P analysis (papers, patents, and products) as well as government-funded projects in Korean obesity obesogenic environments over the last 10 years. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: As a result of the 3P analysis, studies on obesity risk factors were frequently carried out, according to two data bases RISS (4.9%) and PubMed (24.7%). Since there were only 17% patents related to the mechanism of preventing obesity in 7,951 Korean patents related to obesity, new paradigms of technologies to dominate the global obesity markets are needed. After government-funded projects were analyzed, communication and cooperation in multi-governmental departments were suggested to elucidate the characteristics of Korean obesity. Government should also produce short- and long-term road maps to develop a practical, successful outcome. Although the rate of obesity in Korea is currently lower than in other developed countries according to WHO criteria, without adequate governmental intervention, obesity rates will approach those of the top countries with high incidence rates of obesity within the next 10 years.
Adult ; Developed Countries ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Social Problems

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of childhood obesity has more than doubled since it was formally recognized as a global epidemic in 1997. With the increasingly dwindling space for private schools in Ethiopia, unresolved concerns exist among the public regarding the possible effect of limited play areas in schools on overweight/obesity. This study intended to determine and compare the levels of overweight/obesity among adolescents in private schools with and without adequate play area in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,276 adolescents. Twenty private schools were grouped into 2 groups based on the size of the play area. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and anthropometric measurements and analyzed using descriptive statistical tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: The magnitude of overweight/obesity was significantly higher in schools with inadequate play area (19.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 16.4 to 22.7) than in schools with adequate play area (14.6%; 95% CI, 11.9 to17.5). Inadequacy of the play area was also positively associated with overweight/obesity in the multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio [OR], 1.62; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.51). Using private car transportation to and from school (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.13 to 4.57), father’s educational status (secondary school and above: OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.14 to 5.62), and middle wealth quintile (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.50 to 4.33) were other factors significantly associated with overweight/obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate play area in schools was an important contributor to overweight/obesity. Sedentary behavior was also significantly associated with overweight/obesity.
Adolescent ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Educational Status ; Ethiopia* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Obesity ; Overweight* ; Pediatric Obesity ; Prevalence ; Transportation

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of childhood obesity has more than doubled since it was formally recognized as a global epidemic in 1997. With the increasingly dwindling space for private schools in Ethiopia, unresolved concerns exist among the public regarding the possible effect of limited play areas in schools on overweight/obesity. This study intended to determine and compare the levels of overweight/obesity among adolescents in private schools with and without adequate play area in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.METHODS: A school-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,276 adolescents. Twenty private schools were grouped into 2 groups based on the size of the play area. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and anthropometric measurements and analyzed using descriptive statistical tests and logistic regression.RESULTS: The magnitude of overweight/obesity was significantly higher in schools with inadequate play area (19.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 16.4 to 22.7) than in schools with adequate play area (14.6%; 95% CI, 11.9 to17.5). Inadequacy of the play area was also positively associated with overweight/obesity in the multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio [OR], 1.62; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.51). Using private car transportation to and from school (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.13 to 4.57), father’s educational status (secondary school and above: OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.14 to 5.62), and middle wealth quintile (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.50 to 4.33) were other factors significantly associated with overweight/obesity.CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate play area in schools was an important contributor to overweight/obesity. Sedentary behavior was also significantly associated with overweight/obesity.
Adolescent ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Educational Status ; Ethiopia ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Pediatric Obesity ; Prevalence ; Transportation

OBJECTIVETo understand the distributions of waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in Han and Uygur ethnic children aged 3-9 years in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) and discuss their values in obesity screening in children.

METHODSStratified cluster random sampling was conducted to select Han and Uygur ethnic children from kindergartens and primary schools in four areas of Xinjiang in April 2014. The children's standing height, body weight and waist circumference were measured by trained investigators according to standard protocol. WC>or=P80 and WHtR>or=0.48 were used as the cutoff value for abdominal obesity screening in children with normal BMI. The association between overweight/obese prevalence rate and obesity related indicators, such as BMI, WC, WHtR, were analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 4024 Han and Uygur ethnic children were investigated, in which 2461 were in Han ethnic group, 1563 were in Uygur ethnic group. The WC and WHtR at P50 and P80 were differed significantly. In both Han and Uygur ethnic groups, there were some children with WC>or=P80 or WHtR>or=0.48, although they had normal BMI. This proportion decreased with age.

CONCLUSIONSThe WC and WHtR are similar in Han and Uygur ethnic children aged 3-9 years. WC and WHtR have values in obesity screening for children with normal BMI which suggested to use it as the supplementation of BMI in obesity screening in preschool aged children.

Body Height ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Ethnic Groups ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Overweight ; ethnology ; Pediatric Obesity ; ethnology ; Prevalence ; Schools ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Height Ratio