Prevalence and factors associated with overweight among children aged 3 to 4 years in Algeria according to MICS4 survey data

Childhood obesity continues to be a pervasive global public health problem with short- and long-term implications for children's physical, psychological, social and economic well-being. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children aged 3 to 4 years in Algeria and to study some factors that may be associated with overweight. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study, which covered all children aged 3 to 4 in the database of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted in 2012-2013 (MICS4), i.e. 5163 children (2670 boys and 2493 girls). Using a logistic regression model, we assessed the role of various socio-demographic, economic and geographical factors (gender, education level, wealth index, area of residence, etc.) in childhood overweight. The weight has been classified according to the WHO (2007) reference curves. The prevalence of overweight and obesity included is 13.32% (7.57% overweight and 5.75% obese). This prevalence is significantly higher in boys. The main factors associated with being overweight among children were urban residence, the three northern geographic regions (Central, Eastern, and Western region), mother's high educational level, and the two highest wealth indices. The identification of factors associated with overweight children is of great interest in developing countries such as Algeria, in order to adopt planned and targeted preventive interventions from an early age with early and effective care. (C) 2020 Societe francaise de nutrition. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.