Study on the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adolescents in Longhua District in Shenzhen and the Distribution Patterns of Their Traditional Chinese Medi⁃ cine Constitutions
Abstract: Objective: To analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Longhua District in Shenzhen,the influencing factors,and the distribution patterns of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutions. Methods: The physical examination and questionnaire survey were conducted on 837 middle school students in Longhua District, Shenzhen by stratified cluster random sampling. The number of overweight and obesity was counted by sex and age, and the growth and development of students were evaluated ; the times of fried food and sweet food consumed per week , the times of exercise for more than 30 minutes per week,the length of sleep per day,body mass index of parents,and education levels of parents were investigated;the TCM constitution types of students were determined. Results:There were 789 effective questionnaires in the end,with an effective rate of 94.27%,of which the detection rate of overweight was 19.77%,and the detection rate of obesity was 6.34%. The adolescents had a good nutritional status and normal growth and development. The total detection rate of overweight and obesity in boys was higher than that in girls, the difference being significant (P<0.05). The younger the age,the higher the total detection rate of overweight and obesity, the difference being significant (P<0.05). The more times of eating fried food and sweet food per week , the fewer times of exercise for more than 30 minutes a week,and the shorter the length of sleep every day,the higher the total detection rate of overweight and obesity,differences being significant (P<0.05). After the adjustment with the positive rate variables being enrolled into the Logistic regression model, it was found that gender,age,the times of fried food and sweet food consumed per week,the times of exercise for more than 30 minutes per week,and the length of sleep per day were all independent factors affecting the occurrence of overweight and obesity. From more to less,the TCM constitutions among the adolescents were damp-heat constitution,balanced constitution,phlegm-damp constitution,qi constraint constitution,yin deficiency constitution,yang deficiency constitution,qi deficiency constitution,inherited special constitution, and blood stasis constitution. Among them, the constitution of overweight and obesity adolescents is mainly yin deficiency. Based on the comparison with the balanced constitution and according to the degree of influence on overweight and obesity,the TCM constitutions from high degree to low degree were phlegm-damp constitution,yang deficiency constitution,yin deficiency constitution,qi constraint constitution, and damp- heat constitution. Conclusion: The total detection rate of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Longhua District in Shenzhen is relatively high,especially among boys. Gender,age , the times of fried food and sweet food consumed per week , the times of exercise more than 30 minutes per week,the length of sleep per day,and different TCM constitutions were all independent factors affecting the occurrence of overweight and obesity. The main TCM constitutions of adolescents in Longhua District in Shenzhen are damp-heat constitution,balanced constitution,phlegmdamp constitution. The main TCM constitutions that affect overweight and obesity are phlegm- damp constitution, yang deficiency constitution, and yin deficiency constitution, especially phlegm- damp constitution.