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- Title
Monitoring of Excess Body Weight in Children in the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Pediatric Hospital in Bucharest, Romania.
- Authors
MIRON, Victor Daniel; BAR, Gabriela; FILIMON, Claudiu; GAIDAMUT, Vlad Alexandru; CRAIU, Mihai
- Abstract
Introduction: Excess body weight in children has become a public health issue in most countries. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children over two years of age who presented at the Emergency Department of a tertiary pediatric hospital in Bucharest, Romania. Methods: Between July and August 2018, we conducted a prospective study among children who presented at the Emergency Department of "Alessandrescu-Rusescu" National Institute for Mother and Child Health, Bucharest, Romania. We collected data on weight, height and blood pressure classified by age and gender. Results: A total of 335 children aged 2 to 18 years were included in our study. A quarter of them had above normal body mass index values, 7.5% were overweight and 18.5% obese. Also, when measuring blood pressure, we observed increased values in 29.3% (n=98) of them. Among children with excess body weight, nearly a half (49.4%, n=47) had higher than normal blood pressure values. Conclusions: We identified an increased prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents in the last decade. Given that the effects of this condition are not limited to childhood, urgent measures are needed to curb this trend. Both healthcare providers and non-medical members of the society should be involved in promotion of a healthy lifestyle.
- Subjects
BUCHAREST (Romania); PEDIATRIC emergency services; BODY weight; CHILDREN'S hospitals; PUBLIC health; OVERWEIGHT children; MEDICAL personnel
- Publication
Maedica - a Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021, Vol 16, Issue 3, p389
- ISSN
1841-9038
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.26574/maedica.2021.16.3.389