Prevalence and Correlates of Overweight, Obesity and Physical Activity in Italian Children and Adolescents from Lombardy, Italy

Investigating pediatric overweight and physical activity correlates is essential to design
effective preventive programs. We used regional data (Lombardy, northern Italy) from the 2019 survey
“OKKio alla Salute” (3093 children aged 8–9 years with measured anthropometric data), and
from the 2018 wave of the “Health Behaviour in School-aged Children” survey (2916 adolescents
aged 11–15 years with self-reported anthropometric data). In both the surveys, a cluster sampling
methodology was used. Unconditional multiple logistic regression models were applied to estimate
the odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) of overweight, obesity and
poor physical activity. The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was 22.4% for children
aged 8–9 years and 14.4% for adolescents aged 11–15 years. A higher prevalence of overweight
was observed among males, children with greater birth weight and those with obese parents. Scant
physical activity was higher among females and older adolescents. There was a direct relationship
between obesity and increased psychological distress (OR = 2.44; 95% CI: 1.12–5.27) or being victims
of bullying (OR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.17–4.34). Increasing physical activity significantly decreased the
frequency of mental health outcomes. Prevention campaigns should be promoted to safeguard
childhood physical and psychological wellbeing.