Growth Trends and Overweight/Obesity Status of Children Aged 7-12 Years in China from 2014 to 2020

Background Since the reform and opening up in China, socio-economic development has developed rapidly, and the basic indicators such as children's height and body mass have risen rapidly. Previous studies have shown that the growth in height of Chinese children has slowed in recent years, while the growth in body mass has accelerated, leading to a high prevalence of overweight and obesity currently. Investigating the current growth and nutritional status of Chinese children is important to prevent and address the negative effects of growth trends. Objective To analyse the trends of growth and overweight/obesity in Chinese children aged 7 to 12 years from 2014 to 2020, and provide a scientific basis for formulating measures to promote children's physical fitness and prevent obesity. Methods In this study, height, body mass and BMI data of 10 817 children aged 7 to 12 years from four surveys of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 were selected in May 2022. The trends of height, bo