Objective: To assess prevalence and socioeconomic context of overweight and obesity in a cohort of Scottish children.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Primary schools in Dundee, Angus, and Fife, Eastern Scotland, UK.
Participants: A total of 1240 boys and 1214 girls aged between 4-10 y.
Main outcome measure: Weight, height and body mass index (weight/height2).
Results: Overall overweight or obesity prevalence was 24.6%, while prevalence of obesity alone was 6.1%. Individuals from schools with a high level of low-income families were 65% more likely to be overweight as judged by BMI. However, these children weighed the same as more affluent children of the same age, but were 1.26 cm shorter.
Conclusion: These data confirm the continued increase in childhood obesity in the UK and reveal a role for height-growth limitation in the absence of overall growth restriction, among children from low-income groups. This observation raises important questions regarding socioeconomic environmental factors in promoting the currently increasing levels of obesity.