Prevalence of obesity among paediatrics (0-15 years) at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital: A retrospective chart review

Abstract

To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among paediatric patients aged (0-15 years) at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, SQUH between 2007 and 2012. Design - A retrospective chart review study. A total of 3,657 paediatric patients 0-15 year olds who consulted the SQUH paediatric services between 2007 and 2012 were included in the analysis. Data was abstracted from the electronic medical records database. The WHO reference cut-offs BMIs (> +1 and > +2 standard deviation scores [SDS]) were used for overweight and obesity respectively. The overall prevalence of childhood overweight was (11.3%) and obesity (9.4%) in all age groups. There was no significant difference (P=0.564) between boys and girls. A significant increase of overweight (8.0% vs 12.4%, P=0.001) and obesity (4.2% vs 12.9%, P=0.001) was found between younger age group (3-5 years) and the older (10-15 years) age group. An increasing annual trend of obesity (6.2%, 7.8%, 9.3%, 10.5% and 11.5%) was evident (P=0.029) between year 2007 and 2011 respectively, with a slight decrease (9.9%) in 2012. Nevertheless, findings also suggest underweight prevalence of 14.2% among paediatric patients of which 4.5% are severely underweight. The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is increasing among SQUH paediatrics. The present study provides useful insight for policy development to establish better monitoring system, management and prevention efforts within the SQUH. However, underweight remain a problem that equally requires further attention and intervention.