Outcomes of pediatric obesity‐related lifestyle disease screenings in Kumamoto

Background Obesity is an important issue causing both health hazards and socioeconomic loss to those affected. Kumamoto City regularly performs obesity‐related lifestyle disease screenings for fourth grade children with obesity, including physical examinations, blood tests, and special examination referrals. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of the screenings conducted from 2011 to 2020. Methods The percentage of overweight was calculated using data from the Lifestyle Disease Screening Board of Kumamoto City from 2011 to 2020. The percentage of overweight, abdominal circumference, blood pressure, and laboratory test outcomes of the Secondary Lifestyle Disease Test were evaluated. Results The proportion of children with obesity in grades 1–4 in Kumamoto was higher than the national average, while that in grades 5–6 was lower than the national average. Among the fourth graders screened, 6521 were eligible for the Secondary Lifestyle Disease Tests, of which 3291 children underwent the test. In the testing, 22.3% of the boys and 29.1% of the girls were nonobese. Moreover, 25.9% of the boys and 19.2% of the girls, including nonobese children, required further examination and intervention. Notably, 62.1% of the boys and 46.2% of the girls who were nonobese and required special examination had a waist circumference of ≥75 cm or waist‐to‐height ratios of ≥0.5. Conclusions Obesity‐related lifestyle disease screenings contributed to preventing obesity progression. Abdominal circumference measurements may be useful in determining nonobese children at a risk of lifestyle diseases.