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Time Trends in Fast Food Consumption and Its Association with Obesity among Children in China

Xue, Hong; Wu, Yang; Wang, Xiaoyu; & Wang, Youfa. (2016). Time Trends in Fast Food Consumption and Its Association with Obesity among Children in China. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0151141. PMCID: PMC4790849

Xue, Hong; Wu, Yang; Wang, Xiaoyu; & Wang, Youfa. (2016). Time Trends in Fast Food Consumption and Its Association with Obesity among Children in China. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0151141. PMCID: PMC4790849

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Objective: Study the trends in Western fast food consumption (FFC) among Chinese school-age children and the association between FFC and obesity using nationwide survey data.
Design: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted to study the trends in FFC and the associations between FFC and weight status (overweight, obesity and body mass index (BMI) z-score).
Setting: Longitudinal data from families were collected in the 2004 and 2009 China Health and Nutrition Survey (covering nine provinces throughout China).
Subjects: The analysis included 2656 Chinese children aged 6 to 18 years (1542 and 1114 children in the 2004 and 2009 survey, respectively).
Results: FFC (reported having consumed Western fast food in the past three months) has increased between 2004 and 2009, from 18.5% to 23.9% in those aged 6–18, and increased more rapidly among those aged 13–17, from 17.9% to 26.3%. The increase was significant in almost all groups by age, sex, family income, and residence. Our cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses did not detect a significant association between FFC and obesity/overweight or BMI z-score (e.g., for BMI z-score, boys: β = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.71, 0.75; girls: β = -0.14, 95% CI: -1.03, 0.75).
Conclusions: FFC has increased in Chinese school-age children, especially in older children, boys, and those from low- and medium-income families, rural areas, and East China, but decreased among those from high-income families during 2004–2009. The data did not show a significant association between FFC and obesity.




JOUR



Xue, Hong
Wu, Yang
Wang, Xiaoyu
Wang, Youfa



2016


PLOS ONE

11

3

e0151141








PMC4790849


2405