[Social disparities in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents]

Introduction: Many social factors have a role in determining the risk of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents, and are the main barriers in their management. This study tries to define the effect that some familial and social factors have on the risk of overweight/obesity in children and adolescents.

Method: Population sample of 11- and 14-years old children recruited in three Primary Care Centres in Palencia. Their weight, height and skin folds were measured, and information gathered about sport activities, TV watching, and parental data (weight, height, educational status and occupation). Multivariate models were used to analyse the effect of these variables on the weight status and on the body fat.

Results: Three hundred and twenty-two children were included. Prevalence of obesity was 5.6% and that of any degree of overweight was 28.9%. Overweight was not related to educational status or occupation, but it was more often found in males (OR 2.07; 95% CI; 1.12-3.83), in children whose father (OR 2.18; 95% CI; 1.14-4.15) or mother (OR 2.17; 95% CI; 1.18-3.98) were overweight, and in those who spent ≥2 h daily watching TV (OR 2.72; 95% CI; 1.43-5.19), and it was less frequent in 14 than in 11-year old children (OR 0.42; 95% CI; 0.23-0.78). Obesity was only related to a low educational level (OR 19.45; 95% CI; 1.95-193.82).

Conclusions: Overweight is related with genetic-environmental factors and the modern society way of life, and occurs across the whole social spectrum. But obesity is strongly related to a low educational status of the family, and it still is a marker for health disparities.