Trends in nutritional status and stature among school-age children in Chile

Objective We studied the prevalence of weight excess and short stature among school-age children in Chile over the past decade. Methods We designed a descriptive cross-sectional, school-based study to analyze nutritional and stature trends in prepubertal and pubertal boys and girls from 1986 to 1998. Results Between 1986 and 1998, we detected significant increases in obesity risk (body mass index between the 85th and 95th percentiles): from 8.3% to 19.6% in prepubertal males, from 5.4% to 14.6% in pubertal males, from 10.2% to 16.2% in prepubertal females, and from 9.7% to 24.9% in pubertal females. Obesity (body mass index > 95th percentile) increased significantly, from 4.3% to 29.5% in prepubertal males, from 1.6% to 14.6% in pubertal, from 4.7% to 24.0% in prepubertal females, and from 2.3% to 17.6% in pubertal females. During this same period, the prevalences of short stature (height for age below the 10th percentile) decreased from 40.9% to 12.0% in prepubertal males, from 44.2% to 20.4% in pubertal males, from 29.8% to 12.7% in prepubertal females, and from 41.1% to 25.8% in pubertal females. Conclusions Chile represents a special model of fast changes in nutritional and growth trends due to social and political interventions and economic development. The significance of these findings in the health of Chilean adults and the urgency to implement measures to prevent further increases in obesity and simultaneously decrease the prevalence of short stature are discussed.