Developing Intervention Strategies to Optimise Body Composition in Early Childhood in South Africa

Table 2

Weight status of preschool children from urban high-income, urban low-income, and rural low-income settings across South Africa.

	Total ()	Urban high-income ()	Urban low-income ()	Rural ()
Age (years)	5.18 ± 0.70	5.28 ± 0.72	5.35 ± 0.72	5.02 ± 0.64
BMI -scores	−0.05 ± 1.03	−0.25 ± 0.81	0.40 ± 1.05	−0.10 ± 1.02
BMI (kg⋅m^−2)	15.46 ± 1.57	15.02 ± 1.11	16.00 ± 1.71	15.22 ± 1.50
Weight status %
Thinness (low BMI for age)	19	23.92	7.7	25.63
Normal weight	72.09	71.74	75.82	69.42
Overweight	5.81	4.35	10.99	2.48
Obesity & morbid obesity	3.1	0	5.5	2.48

Age and BMI data presented as means ± SD. “a” indicates significant difference between rural and urban low-income children. “b” indicates significant difference between urban low-income children and urban high-income and rural children (all ).