Prevalence and risk factors of overweight among 5-to 11-year-old schoolchildren in Narbonne, France

In order to address the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in children, the French city of Narbonne recently began monitoring childhood obesity with a view to developing and implementing targeted actions to stabilize the prevalence of overweight. The main purpose of this study was to assess the risk factors for overweight in children. The study was conducted during the 2008-2009 academic year and was based on a sample of 1,476 preschool and primary school children from all public and private schools in Narbonne. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 14.9% and 3.7%, respectively. The study found that watching television for more than 2 hours a day, short sleep duration (less than 10 hours per night), a low socioeconomic status and parental obesity are risk factors for overweight and obesity in children. The findings suggest that priority actions among poor populations and overweight mothers are required in order to stabilize the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children, including providing advice on healthy eating, fighting against sedentary lifestyles and promoting sleep.