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Obesity in schoolchildren
  1. J. R. T. Colley
  1. Department of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street (Gower Street), London WC1E 7HT

    Abstract

    In 1971 triceps skinfold thickness was measured in a sample of 6-14-year-old children attending school in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The sample consisted of 1,243 boys and 1,183 girls. In both boys and girls triceps skinfolds tended to increase with age, this being most marked in the girls. If a 25 mm triceps skinfold is taken as indicating obesity, then 32·4% of the 14-year old girls and 3·6% of the 14-year-old boys would be classified as obese. Comparison with the findings of the 1959 study of London schoolchildren suggests that obesity in 14-year-old girls has become more prevalent.

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