Should public health interventions aimed at reducing childhood overweight and obesity be gender-focused?

In 2008, we surveyed 3421 grade five students and their parents of 148 randomly selected schools. Students completed the Harvard food frequency questionnaire, questions on physical activities, and had their height and weight measured. Parents completed questions on socio-economic background and child's lifestyle. We applied multilevel regression methods to assess gender differentials in overweight, nutrition and physical activity.Overall, the prevalence of overweight was slightly higher among boys (29.1%) than girls (27.9%) with more pronounced differences in towns and urban geographies. Boys reported to be much more physically active relative to girls (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.73-2.60). Diets of boys, relative to those of girls, reportedly constituted more fat and were less likely to meet the recommendation of 6 daily servings of vegetables and fruits (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71-0.93).Our findings confirm the existence of gender differences in physical activity and nutrition, and support gender-focused health promotion whereby priority is given to physical activity among girls and to healthy eating among boys.The prevention of childhood overweight and obesity is a public health priority in developed countries [1]. Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are the established determinants of the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity in childhood [2,3]. Research of these determinants has become increasingly important due to the increasing recognition of the need for preventative actions. For example, childhood overweight has been reported to vary between geographies, with higher prevalence rates observed in rural areas relative to urban areas in most developed countries, suggesting that priority for programs should be given to children and youth residing in rural areas [4].The etiology of overweight and obesity among girls and boys may be different due to biology (sex differences) as well as society and culture (gender differences) [5,6]. Various studies have examined t