Trained field staff measured height, weight and waist circumference in school children in years K, 2,4,6,8,and 10. Height and weight were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI) as weight (kg)/height (m2). Three categories of BMI were created based on the definitions of Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. Establishing a standard definition of child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ, 320:1240-1243, 2000.
Source:
Booth M, Okely AD, Denney-Wilson E, Hardy L, Yang B, Dobbins T. NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) 2004: Full Report. Sydney: NSW Department of Health, 2006.
Excess body fat increases the risk of developing a range of health problems including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, certain cancers, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis, psychological disorders and social problems (AIHW, 2006).
There is a lack of recent national data on overweight and obesity among children and adolescentsd (AIHW, 2006). The 1995 National Health Survey found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years was 19.5% for boys and 21.1% for girls (AIHW, 2006).
The NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) trained field staff to measure the height, weight and waist circumference of a sample of school children in years K, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 in NSW in 2004. The results showed that overall 26.6% of boys and 18.9% of girls were overweight or obese. Among boys, the prevalence of overweight and obesity rose from 15.0% in Year K to 31.6% in Year 6 before declining to around 26% in Years 8 and 10. There was a similar pattern in girls, but the peak of 30.1% appeared in Year 4 before declining to 18.9% in Year 10. The results of the study suggest that the pubertal growth spurt may be responsible for the decline in overweight and obesity and this may present a significant opportunity for primary school aged children who are overweight or obese to achieve a healthy weight (Booth et al., 2006).
The SPANS survey also found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased markedly in school-aged children over the last 20 years. In boys, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 10.8% to 26.1% between 1985 and 2004 across all school years and from 12.0% to 23.7% in girls in the same period (Booth et al., 2006).
The NSW Government Action Plan for the Prevention of Obesity in Children and Young People 2003-07 contains 34 individual actions that the NSW Government is currently implementing to address the prevention of obesity in children and young people (NSW Health, 2003). In addition, the NSW Department of Health has developed a strategic plan for population health, Healthy people 2010 (NSW Health, 2006). The strategy relating to reducing obesity will involve different levels of government, industry and the community working together to implement coordinated programs, services and infrastructure across the priority areas of schools, community, parents and childcare promoting healthy weight through increasing physical activity and encouraging healthy eating habits.
Although this page can be printed directly from your Web browser,
a higher quality version of this entire page (graph, table and text)
is available as an Acrobat PDF file which can be printed or viewed on screen
using free software.
The data contained in the table on this page are available for download as a CSV file which can be
imported into many software packages. The graph is available for download as an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file
and as an EMF (Enhanced Metafile Format) file. Files in these formats can be imported into most word processing,
presentation and graphics software packages.
Copyright notice:
This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced
in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited.
Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales -
Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/beh/beh_bmi_kid.htm. Accessed (insert date of access).
Top of page
Table of contents
