Ruxton, Carrie. Obesity in Children. Nursing Standard 28.10 (2004): 47-52. Print.
Obesity rises as children get older with a major at risk period occurring
during adolescence, particularly in girls.
The trend in adults is for more men to be overweight and more women to be
obese. The picture is less clear in children. Surveys using BMI suggest that
the prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher in boys. However, BMI
fails to distinguish between fat and fat-free mass (muscle and bone),
suggesting that the index could exaggerate obesity in large, muscular boys.
Overweight and obesity had a higher prevalence for both boys and girls than
the national figures published five years earlier (Food and Nutrition Research
Institute, 2003). It was also higher than a study in a similar geographic area
in Cebu 6 years earlier (Lim et al., 2003) (4% overweight and 2.7% obese vs.
8.7% overweight and 8.7% obese).
Florentino, Rodolfo F., Villavieja, Gracia M., and Ruby D. Laa. Dietary and physical
activity patterns of 8- to 10-year-old urban school children in Manila, Philippines.
Food & Nutrition Bulletin 23.3 (2003): 267-73. Print.
Metro Manila, the prevalence was even higher than the national average and
has increased more rapidly, from 9.7% in 19891990 to 16.3% in 1996.
Evidence