This meta-analysis of overweight and obesity (ow/ob) among children and adolescents in China from 1991 to 2015 provides a reference for promoting the healthy development of children and adolescents. The studies were retrieved from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and PubMed databases for the period from January 1991 to January 2018. The data were combined and analyzed, and the combined effect magnitude odds ratio and the 95% confidence interval were calculated. Publication bias was determined using Stata/SE12.0. We found that (1) the prevalence of ow/ob increased from 5.0% and 1.7% in 1991-1995 to 11.7% and 6.8% in 2011-2015, respectively, and the overweight rate was the greatest in 2006-2010; (2) from 1991 to 2015, the prevalence of ow/ob was greater in urban areas than in rural areas; (3) compared with girls, boys were more likely to be ow/ob; and (4) the prevalence rates of ow and ob were greater in infancy than in other growth stages, with values of 11.7% and 7.0%, respectively. The prevalence of ow/ob among Chinese children and adolescents showed significant differences based on region, sex, and age. An overall upward trend was observed that decreased slightly from 2011 to 2015.
Keywords: Chinese children and adolescents; obesity; overweight; prevalence.