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Background: Childhood obesity has become a public health concern in many countries. In Southern China, the prevalence of childhood obesity increased from 6.2 to 7.5 % between 2007 and 2011. This study aimed to report the current prevalence of overweight and obesity, analyzed the early life and behavioral determinants of obesity, and investigated the weight-loss practices among Chinese children in Guangzhou.Methods: Three thousand seven hundred sixty-six primary school students aged 7-12 years were recruited in Guangzhou, China in 2013. Questionnaires were used to assess (1) early life factors: birth weight, delivery mode, gestational age and feeding patterns; (2) behavioral factors: dietary intake, eating speed, sedentary time, physical activities and sleep duration; and (3) weight-loss practices: improving diet, increasing exercise, taking weight-loss drugs and undergoing a diet. The criteria of Working Group of Obesity in China were applied to classify overweight and obesity based on measured weight and height. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the determinants of overweight/obesity and adoption of weight-loss practices.Results: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity were 11.2 and 10.0 %, respectively. High birth weight (≥4.0 kg versus 2.5 ~ 4.0 kg, odd ratio [OR]: 2.34; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.53-3.58), sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) intake (OR: 1.39; 95 % CI: 1.05-1.85), vegetable intake (OR: 1.12; 95 % CI: 1.01-1.24), and doing homework (OR: 1.24; 95 % CI: 1.08-1.43) were positively associated with obesity. Eating speed faster than peers was positively associated with obesity and yielded the highest OR (versus "as fast as peers", OR: 3.18; 95 % CI: 2.28-4.44). Approximately 57, 81 and 87 % of normal-weight, overweight and obese children, respectively, reported weight-loss practices. Self-perception of weight status presented as the strongest determinant for weight-loss practices.Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were high in Chinese children in Guangzhou, and both were higher than previous level in 2011. Further research should address the unhealthy dietary (e.g. SSBs intake, fast eating speed) and sedentary behaviors (e.g. doing homework) of these children. Moreover, an accurate perception of body weight can help promote the adoption of weight-loss practices in overweight and obese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Information on the relationship between sleep duration and obesity among children in urban Guangzhou, China is limited. This study aims to examine the relationship between sleep duration and obesity in children aged 6-18 years.Methods: The sample consisted of 11,830 children aged 6-18 years. The children were randomly selected from 13 schools in three urban districts of Guangzhou. The study was conducted from September to November 2013. The height and weight of the children were measured. Adiposity status was estimated using body mass index and according to the cut point in China criteria. In the structured questionnaire, children reported daily sleep hours (less than 7 h, 7-9 h and more than 9 h), weekly food intake amount (including vegetables, fruit, sugar beverages and meat), physical activity and sedentary time. A caretaker would answer the questionnaire on behalf of a child aged below nine.Results: A total of 8,760 children (49.0 % boys) completed the study. The prevalence of obesity was 8.4 % (9.8 % in boys and 5.7 % in girls). Adjusted for age, diet and physical activity/sedentary behaviour, the odds ratio (OR) for obesity comparing sleeping <7 h (short sleep duration, SSD) with ≥9 h (long sleep duration, LSD) was 0.70 (95 % CI: 0.69-0.72) among boys and 1.73 (95 % CI: 1.71-1.74) among girls. Stratified by age, OR for boys aged 6-12 years comparing SSD with LSD was 0.60 (95 % CI: 0.55-0.66); by contrast, OR was 1.33 (95 % CI: 1.30-1.37) for boys aged 13-18 years.Conclusion: Short sleep duration is associated with increased chances of obesity among girls and 13- to 18-year-old boys, but the chances of obesity are decreased among 6- to 12-year-old boys. Age and gender should be regarded as specific characteristics for the effects of short sleep on obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between sleep duration and food intake is unclear. This study aims to examine the relationship among children aged 6-17 years in China.Methods: The sample consisted of 70,519 children aged 6-17 years, which were randomly selected from 7 representative areas from China, from September to November, 2013. In the structured questionnaire, children reported daily sleep hours (less than 7 h, 7-9 h and more than 9 h), weekly food intake amount (including vegetables, fruit, sugar beverages and meat), physical activity and sedentary time. The relationship of sleep duration with vegetable, sugar beverage, fruit and meat intake was evaluated by multi-nominal logistic regression and multi-variable adjusted.Results: A total of 62,517 children (51.6% boys) completed the study. Short sleep duration (SSD, < 7 h) was independently associated with increased sugar beverage intake (SBI, Odd Ratio, OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.19-1.40) but decreased vegetable (VI, OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90-0.98) & fruit intake (FI, OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88-0.99). Stratified by age and gender, SSD increased SBI for boys of both young (6-12 years) & older (13-17 years) groups and older girls (ORs: 1.25, 1.25, 1.49, 95% CI: 1.08-1.44, 1.04-1.50, 1.22-1.81, respectively), but decreased VI and FI for older girls (ORs: 0.84& 0.81, 95% CI: 0.74-0.96& 0.68-0.96, respectively).Conclusions: Among school-aged children in China, short sleep duration was associated with increased risks of more sugar beverage intake among those younger and boys but less vegetable & fruit intake among those older and girls. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the causation in between. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between sleep duration and overweight risk remains unexplored among Chinese children. This study aims to evaluate this association in a national investigation with school-aged population.Methods: There were 18,302 normal weight children in this Chinese national study which conducted during 2013-2014 included in the research. Anthropometric measurements were performed both at baseline and after 6-9 month. Sleep duration, physical activity, food intake and social economic information were collected by self-report questionnaire. Overweight was defined according to the updated Chinese criterion. Cox regression was used to evaluate the relationships between sleep duration and overweight incidence with multivariable adjusted.Results: In total, there were 443 new overweight cases recorded at the end of observation. Overweight incidence with greater than 9 h (long sleep duration, LSD), 7 to 9 h (middle sleep duration, MSD), and less than 7 h of sleep (short sleep duration, SSD) were 2.7, 3.1 and 3.3% respectively. Stratified by gender and compared with LSD, the hazard ratio (HR) of overweight for females with MSD was 1.60 (95% CI: 1.02-2.52). Stratified by age and gender, the HR in the group of MSD was 2.13 (1.20-3.77) in female aged 6-10 years and 0.24 (0.06-0.93) in female aged 15-17 years.Conclusion: The association between short sleep duration and overweight is age- and gender dependent. In group of small age and elder age, girls' adiposity states are independently associated with sleep duration. Sleep recommendation is a potential preventive action for overweight/obesity among girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]