Prevalence of overweight and obesity may be rising among pediatric patients

Investigators have explored the prevalence of pediatric patients who may be overweight or obese, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics. Being overweight or obese in childhood is often linked to comorbidities later in life.

In the study, the investigators used MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane databases to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among nearly 46 million pediatric patients younger than 18 years across the world between January 2000 and March 2023.

Among the 2,033 studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the prevalence of obesity was 8.5%. However, the percentage of the study population with obesity varied depending on the country — ranging from 0.4% to 28.4% — and was more prevalent in high-income countries and those with Human Development Index scores of 0.8 or greater.

The investigators identified inherent, behavioral, environmental and sociocultural risk factors that led to an increased risk of overweight and obesity. They concluded that it may be critical to develop and implement novel interventions to help reduce the global burden of overweight and obesity in pediatric patients.

Read more: JAMA Pediatrics

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