Prevalence of Childhood Short Stature, Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity Among Primary School Children

Background This study, the first of its kind in Morocco, was conducted to compare the prevalence of growth disorders among children enrolled in public, private, urban, and rural schools in Oujda-Angad Province. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among primary schools in Oujda-Angad Province from November 2017 to April 2018, with a stratified random cluster sampling of public, private, urban, and rural primary schools. Results A representative sample of 1582 students aged from five to 15 years old was selected. The sample included 779 females (49.2%) and 803 males (50.8%), with an average age of 9.3 ± 1.96 years. The average weight of the students was 29.3 ± 9.6 kg (range: 12-130 kg), the average height was 133.7 ± 12.16 cm (range: 104.5-175.5 cm), and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 16.05 ± 3.31 kg/m(2) (range: 8.33-76.9 kg/m(2)). Overall, short stature (SS) and underweight were significantly more prevalent in the public and rural schools, while obesity was highest in the urban private schools that ranked as the schools with the highest socioeconomic status (SES) students (p < 0.01). Female students were more likely to be overweight and obese, while male students were more likely to be underweight. Conclusion Our study provides an estimate of the prevalence of excess weight, underweight, and short stature in a primary school population. Our results reflect the importance of the problem, the need to monitor the nutritional status at both the individual and the community level, and the need to put in place preventive, diagnostic, and early management strategies before the problem worsens.