Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT434

Background: Childhood Obesity presents a global pandemic and stands as a significant impending threat to public health. With 380 million children and adolescents affected worldwide. A meta-analysis spanning from 2003 to 2023, encompassing 1,86,901 children in India, revealed that childhood obesity prevails at a pooled prevalence of 8.4%, while childhood overweight stands at 12.4%. We sought to explore the connection between eating behaviors and the risk of childhood obesity.

Objective: To Estimate the prevalence of obesity and determine the association between child eating behaviors and BMI.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted inDeoghar a district of Jharkhand, India, a developing urban area in Sabah, involving 484 children aged 6–12 years. Participants were recruited from five primary schools selected using a combination of multistage stratified and convenience sampling methods. Data collection included sociodemographic details, anthropometric measurements of both parents and children, and children’s eating behaviors, assessed using the Children Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). Age-adjusted BMI z-scores were calculated following the World Health Organization guidelines to evaluate nutritional status. A qualitative analysis was conducted through focused group discussions with parents of obese children. The feeding behaviors identified were then compared between the quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Results: The prevalence of childhood obesity among children aged 6–12 years is 13.2%. Analysis of the ’Food Approach’ subscales from the CEBQ revealed higher mean scores in the overweight and obese groups compared to the normal-weight group. Conversely, the ’Food Avoidance’ subscales showed lower mean scores in the overweight and obese groups compared to the normal-weight group. Very similar findings were observed in the qualitative analysis.

Conclusion: This study highlights that childhood obesity remains a significant health concern in a developing rural area of Jharkhand, India, as the "Food Approach" subscales were found to be positively associated with excess weight in children.