Risk factors and the incidence of overweight and obesity in pre-school children from the southern part of Poland

Introduction. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in humans. It turns out that the problem is not limited to adults; excessive body weight is occurring in children more often. Aim. The main purpose of this work was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool children from the Rzeszów district, and to determine risk factors for occurrence. Materials and survey method. The study was conducted among 200 preschool children (3 - 6 years of age) from the Rzeszów poviat area. Measurements of height, weight, and determination of BMI were performed and these values are standardized according to the WHO centile grids appropriate for each age group. Survey results. Normal weight was observed in 58% of the respondents, 11% were overweight, and 10.5% were obese, whereas 20.5% of children had undernourishment. Obese children were the largest group among 6-year-olds. Among 4 year old children, abnormal body weight were more frequent in boys. On the other hand, in children aged 5 years, undernourishment or overweight was found more frequently in girls. Conclusions. The study did not confirm a significant relationship between gender, place of residence and socio-economic situation of respondents, and the prevalence of overweight or obesity. The results of this study indicate that the problem of excessive body weight refers to the increasing number of children.