The prevalence of overweight and obese children aged 6-17 years in the West Black Sea region of Turkey

Summary Objective: To assess the prevalence of overweight and obese Turkish children. Design: Cross‐sectional study in school children. Subjects: A total of 6924 children (3281 boys and 3643 girls) aged 6–17 years from the West Black Sea region of Turkey. Measurements: Overweight and obese were defined using international age‐ and sex‐specific cutoff points for body mass index. The data were analysed by age, sex, residence and socioeconomic level. Results: The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity was 10.3% and 6.1% respectively. The overall prevalence of obesity in boys and girls was 7.0% and 5.4%, respectively, and the difference was significant (χ2 = 8, p = 0.004). The prevalence of obesity in urban and rural areas was 7.7% and 3.9%, respectively, and the difference was significant (χ2 = 40, p 0.05). However, the prevalence of overweight boys and girls in rural areas was 4.8% and 9.4%, respectively, and the difference was significant (χ2 = 25, p