Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Public health concern about increasing levels of child/youth overweight and obesity has resulted in initiatives to address this issue. In 2012, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) established a target to reduce childhood obesity by 20% within five years. In this paper, we examine trends and establish baseline levels of overweight/obesity to assess the impacts of population-level interventions.
METHODS: We analyzed 10 years (2003–2013) of data accumulated from six cycles of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey using logistic regression to assess trends in the prevalence of overweight/obesity among middle and high school students. The 2013 data are used to begin monitoring progress toward achieving the MOHLTC target.
RESULTS: From 2003 through 2013, the prevalence of overweight/obesity among middle school students in the province remained stable overall and among all subgroups except 7th-grade females, who showed a significant linear decline. Among high school students, the prevalence of overweight/obesity showed a significant linear increase and an increase among 11th graders, females, and 10th- and 11th-grade females specifically. The prevalence remained stable but elevated among 9th- and 12th-grade females as well as among males in all grades. In 2013 (baseline for the MOHLTC target), 25.1% of students in grades 7–12 were overweight or obese, implying a presumed 2018 target of 20.1%.
CONCLUSION: Ten-year trends in overweight/obesity indicate stability among males and significant linear increases in some female subgroups. Also, baseline data (2013) will facilitate the monitoring of future interventions aimed at achieving the 2018 MOHLTC target.
Keywords: Obesity, overweight, trends, students
Résumé
OBJECTIFS : Le problème de santé publique que représentent les niveaux croissants de surpoids et d’obésité des enfants et des jeunes a donné lieu à des initiatives pour aborder la question. En 2012, le ministère de la Santé et des Soins de longue durée (MSSLD) de l’Ontario a établi une cible de réduction de l’obésité juvénile de 20 % dans un délai de cinq ans. Dans notre article, nous examinons les tendances et établissons les niveaux de référence du surpoids/de l’obésité afin d’évaluer les impacts d’interventions populationnelles.
MÉTHODE : Nous avons analysé par régression logistique 10 années (2003-2013) de données accumulées lors de six cycles du Sondage sur la consommation de drogues et la santé des élèves de l’Ontario afin d’évaluer les tendances de la prévalence du surpoids/de l’obésité chez les élèves des premier et deuxième cycles du secondaire. Nous utilisons les données de 2013 pour commencer à surveiller les progrès réalisés en vue d’atteindre la cible du MSSLD.
RÉSULTATS : De 2003 à 2013, la prévalence du surpoids/de l’obésité chez les élèves du premier cycle du secondaire dans la province est restée stable dans l’ensemble et dans tous les sous-groupes sauf celui des filles de 7e année, où elle a présenté une diminution linéaire significative. Chez les élèves du deuxième cycle du secondaire, la prévalence du surpoids/de l’obésité a présenté une augmentation linéaire significative, en particulier chez les élèves de 11e année, chez les filles et chez les filles de 10e et de 11e année. La prévalence est restée stable mais élevée chez les filles de 9e et de 12e année ainsi que chez les garçons de toutes les années. En 2013 (la base de référence pour la cible du MSSLD), 25,1% des élèves de la 7e à la 12e année étaient en surpoids ou obèses, ce qui implique une cible présumée de 20,1% en 2018.
CONCLUSION : Les tendances sur 10 ans du surpoids/de l’obésité indiquent une stabilité chez les garçons et une augmentation linéaire significative dans certains sous-groupes de filles. De plus, les données de référence (2013) faciliteront le contrôle des futures interventions visant à atteindre la cible du MSSLD en 2018.
Mots Clés: obésité, surpoids, tendances, étudiants
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: We acknowledge Public Health Ontario for contribution to publication costs.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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