Social Inequality and Overweight in German Primary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Objective: Overweight and obesity lead to adverse health outcomes and track from childhood into adulthood. There is growing evidence that social disparities in overweight already exist in childhood. This study examines associations between weight status in childhood, parental cultural background and socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: Height and weight were measured in 1646 primary school children (7.1 ± 0.6 years, 50.1% male), of which 489 (29.8%) had a migration background. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and weight status was de- termined based on national and international percentile curves. Migration status and SES were obtained through a parental questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds of overweight, adjusted for age, gender and parental BMI. Results: Prevalence of overweight including obesity was 18.5%. It was higher among children with migration background (26.5% p