Sex differences in time trends for overweight and XXXX in adolescents: the Young-HUNT study.

@entity1 @entity28
AIMS: To investigate sex differences in the prevalence and extent of overweight and @entity28 in adolescents aged 14-18 years. METHODS: Standardized measurements of height and weight were collected from surveys of adolescents in the same geographical area in 1966-69 (n = 8378) and in 1995-97 (n = 6673). The prevalence rates of overweight and @entity28 were calculated using criteria approved by the International Obesity Task Force. The extents of overweight and @entity28 were assessed by computing age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) percentiles. RESULTS: In 1995-97, 17.2% met the criteria for either overweight or @entity28 , as compared with 10.7% in 1966-69. The prevalence of overweight and @entity28 combined was higher in @entity1 (13.0%) than in @entity1 (8.5%) in 1966-69 (difference 4.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1-5.9), while no sex difference was found in 1995-97 ( @entity1 16.9%, @entity1 17.5%, difference -0.6, 95% CI -2.3-1.1). The increase in overweight was greater in @entity1 (6.2PP, 95% CI 4.7-7.6) than in @entity1 (1.9PP, 95% CI 0.4-3.5), while the sex difference in increased @entity28 was smaller ( @entity1 2.8PP, 95% CI 2.1-3.4, @entity1 2.0PP, 95% CI 1.3-2.6). The increase in extent of overweight and @entity28 was highest in @entity1 . The values of the 85th percentile and the 95th percentile in @entity1 increased by 1.3 and 3.0 BMI units, respectively. The corresponding increases in @entity1 were 0.7 and 1.7 BMI units. CONCLUSIONS: A marked sex difference in time trends for both the prevalence and extent of overweight and @entity28 , with a more pronounced increase in @entity1 than in @entity1 , was demonstrated. This might have implications for preventive strategies.
