Table 1. Socio-demographic characteristics of the study population and their difference of distribution between 2009, 2013 and 2017.
| 2009 | 2013 | 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | P-value | ||
| Age of the child | n = 8105 | n = 8844 | n = 11022 | <0.001 | |
| 2–7 years | 4541 (56) | 4615 (57) | 7017 (59) | ||
| 8–12 years | 3564 (44) | 4229 (43) | 4005 (41) | ||
| Gender of the child | n = 8105 | n = 8844 | n = 11022 | 0.252 | |
| Male | 4165 (51) | 4341 (51) | 5716 (52) | ||
| Female | 3940 (49) | 4503 (49) | 5306 (48) | ||
| Ethnicity of the child | n = 7830 | n = 8444 | n = 9586 | <0.001 | |
| Caucasian | 7092 (92) | 7816 (92) | 9109 (94) | ||
| Non-Caucasian | 738 (9) | 628 (8) | 477 (56) | ||
| Education level of parents | n = 7253 | n = 8128 | n = 10110 | <0.001 | |
| Low | 2163 (30) | 2012 (25) | 2246 (22) | ||
| Middle | 3106 (43) | 3638 (45) | 4373 (43) | ||
| High | 1984 (27) | 2478 (30) | 3491 (35) | ||
| Parents’ perception of the child’s weight status | n = 7927 | n = 8772 | n = 10995 | <0.001 | |
| Not heavy Heavy Extremely heavy |
7420 (94) 489 (6) 18 (<1) |
8221 (94) 536 (6) 15 (<1) |
10497 (95) 470 (5) 28 (<1) |
||
| Child’s weight status based on BMIa | n = 7451 | n = 7828 | - | ||
| Not overweight | 6610 (86) | 7064 (90) | - | ||
| Overweight | 663 (9) | 612 (8) | - | ||
| Obese | 178 (2) | 152 (2) | - | ||
a The child’s BMI was calculated using the child’s weight and height as reported by the parents.
The missing numbers including the percentages were, in 2009-2013-2017, respectively: Ethnicity of the child: n = 275 (3%), n = 400 (5%0, n = 1436 (13%); Education level of parents: n = 852 (11%), n = 716 (8%), n = 912 (8%); Parents’ perception of the child’s weight status: n = 178 (2%), n = 72 (1%), n = 27 (0,2%); Child’s weight status based on BMI: n = 654 (8%), n = 1016 (11%).