Impact of Social and Economic Determinants on the Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study from the ENPIV in Valencia, Spain

Objective: To characterize the nutritional status of the child population and to identify the most relevant determinants that could influence the early development of obesity and overweight. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted, recruiting a representative sample (698 schoolchildren, aged between 5 and 14, and obtaining information from a total of 414 households), using of anthropometric methods for nutritional assessment, the FIES scale, the KidMed index, and questions from the COSI survey. Results: Overall, 27% of the sample had healthy weight, 22.6% were overweight, and 18.1% were obese, with a higher prevalence among boys, and 86.7% of the sample did not adhere to dietary habits consistent with the Mediterranean diet. Food insecurity was present in 45.6% of the sample. A mean weight increase of 2.6 kg (95% CI: 1.0-4.3) was observed for each additional kilogram the child weighed at birth, 2.0 kg (95% CI: -0.2-4.3) in children living in households with some difficulty making ends meet, and 4.8 kg (95% CI: 1.3-8.3) in those from households reporting that they do not or barely manage to make ends meet. A statistically significant association was found with gross annual household income, with children from households earning less than EUR 12,000 having a 3.6 times higher risk of overweight/obesity compared to those from households earning more than EUR 36,000. Conclusions: The prevalence of obesity and overweight is considerably higher in low-income families and is significantly associated with family economic capacity. Continued epidemiological surveillance of these conditions and their relationship with social determinants is necessary.