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Prevalence and risk factors for overweight and obesity in children from Seychelles, a country in rapid transition: the importance of early growth

International Journal of Obesity volume 26, pages 214–219 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To establish the prevalence of overweight and obesity and related risk factors in children from Seychelles (Indian Ocean), a country in rapid economic and epidemiological transition.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with retrospective access to early life data.

SUBJECTS: All children from all schools of Seychelles, in four selected school grades (kindergarten, fourth, seventh and tenth year of obligatory school) in 1999. A total of 5514 children aged 4.5–17.4 y were measured, corresponding to 83.5% of the eligible population.

MEASUREMENTS: Overweight and obesity, using age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points as defined by the International Obesity Task Force.

RESULTS: Some 12.6% (95% confidence interval: 11.8–13.5%) of the children were overweight and 3.8% (3.3–4.4%) were obese. Weight gain (kg) during the first year of life was strongly associated with subsequent overweight (odds ratio 1.46, 95% confidence interval 1.27–1.67) and obesity (1.59, 1.29–1.97) in childhood, independently of birth weight. Increased maternal BMI (kg/m2) was also associated with overweight (1.07, 1.03–1.10) and obesity (1.09, 1.04–1.14) in the offspring.

CONCLUSION: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children in Seychelles was as high as or higher than in some industrialized countries. If confirmed in other environments, the strong association between weight gain during the first year of life and subsequent obesity in childhood could affect the way optimal infant weight gain is defined in countries where public health priorities are changing.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the nurses of the School Health Program and their program manager, Jeanne d'Arc Suzette, as well as George Madeleine and Bharathi Viswanathan from the Unit for Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Disease for their efficient assistance in the collection of the data, and Guy van Melle for advice on statistical analyses. The study was supported by the Ministry of Health of Seychelles, the University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine of Lausanne (Switzerland), and the Nutrition Center of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (USA). The study benefited from a grant from the McCabe Fund of the University of Pennsylvania (USA) and a donation from the Rotary Club of Victoria (Seychelles).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    N Stettler, BS Zemel & VA Stallings

  2. Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    N Stettler

  3. Unit for Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Disease in Seychelles, Republic of Seychelles

    P Bovet

  4. Ministry of Health, Victoria, Republic of Seychelles

    H Shamlaye

  5. Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

    P Bovet & F Paccaud

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  1. N Stettler
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Correspondence to N Stettler.

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Stettler, N., Bovet, P., Shamlaye, H. et al. Prevalence and risk factors for overweight and obesity in children from Seychelles, a country in rapid transition: the importance of early growth. Int J Obes 26, 214–219 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801860

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