One quarter of Australian primary school kids too heavy
26 April 2002
More than one-quarter of primary school children are overweight or obese, researchers from the NSW Central Coast have found.
And it's the boys rather than the girls who seem to have put on more weight since the last time this age group was surveyed in 1995.
The researchers, who believe their results apply to children around Australia, analysed height and weight of 268 children aged 7-11 from one primary school.
The school was chosen as it was an average area of socio-economic disadvantage at both state and national levels.
In the year 2000, more than 28% of girls were overweight or obese, the researchers wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia (2002; 176: 400-401).
While fewer boys than girls were overweight or obese (26%), boys showed the most marked increase over the previous 5 years while the rates for girls remained consistent.
In 1995, just 15% of boys were overweight or obese, according to that year's National Nutrition Survey.
Last Reviewed: 26 April 2002
- Medical Observer Weekly 26/04/02
