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Objective: To understand the current status of pubertal sexual characteristics development of girls aged 6-18 years in Tongzhou District of Beijing and to compare the differences in sexual characteristics development among girls characterized as thin, normal, overweight, and obese. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2 844 girls aged 6-18 years in Tongzhou District of Beijing from September 2022 to July 2023. The developmental stages of breast and pubic hair were assessed on site, and menarche status was inquired. Weight and height were measured. The girls were subsequently characterized into thin, normal, overweight and obese groups. Basic information (including family and personal history) was obtained through questionnaires. Probit probability unit regression was applied to calculate the age of each Tanner stage of sexual characteristics development and the age of menarche. The χ 2 test was applied to compare the counting data between two or multiple groups. Results: A total of 2 844 girls were surveyed and 2 704 girls met the inclusion criteria, resulting in a valid response rate of 95.1%. Among these girls, 1 105 (40.9%) were aged 6-9 years, 1 053 (38.9%) were aged 10-13 years, and 546 (20.2%) were aged 14-18 years. The of height-for-age Z-score (HAZ), weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), and body mass index-for-age Z-score (BAZ) were 0.46(-0.23,1.16), 0.69(-0.16,1.67), and 0.67(-0.27,1.73) respectively. The prevalences of thin, overweight, and obesity were respectively 1.7% (45/2 704), 17.3% (467/2 704), and 19.9% (538/2 704), respectively. There were 45 girls in the thin group, 1 654 girls in the normal weight group, 1 005 girls in the overweight and obesity group. The age of Tanner stage breast 2 (B2), Tanner stage pubic hair 2 (P2), and menarche was 9.0 (95% CI 8.9-9.1), 10.5 (95% CI 10.4-10.6), and 11.4 (95% CI 11.3-1.5) years, respectively. The current status of breast and pubic hair maturity in girls with pubertal development shows that 64.6% (1 211/1 874) of these girls had breast development preceding pubic hair development, 32.4% (607/1 874) had concurrent breast and pubic hair development, and 3.0% (56/1 874) had pubic hairs development preceding breast development. The interval age between B2 and B5 was 4.7 (95% CI 4.6-4.8) years, between P2 and P5 was 4.5 (95% CI 4.4-4.6) years, and between B2 and menarche was 2.4 (95% CI 2.3-2.5) years. The ages of sexual characteristics development in overweight and obese groups were earlier than that in normal and thin groups. The ages of B2 in thin, normal, overweight, and obese groups were 10.0 (95% CI 9.5-10.6), 9.3 (95% CI 9.2-9.4), and 8.6 (95% CI 8.4-8.7) years, respectively. The age of menarche in thin, normal, overweight, and obese groups were 13.1 (95% CI 12.4-13.7), 11.6 (95% CI 11.4-11.7), and 11.1 (95% CI 11.0-11.2) years, respectively. The interval ages between B2 and B5 and between P2 and P5 was 4.5 and 4.1 years, respectively in the overweight and obese groups, and those in normal group and thin group was 4.7 and 4.5 years, 4.6 and 4.7 years, respectively. Conclusions: The ages of sexual characteristics development and menarche tend in Tongzhou District of Beijing to be earlier than that being reported of Beijing's survey 20 years ago. Girls characterized as overweight and obese not only start puberty at an earlier age than girls of normal weight, but also have a shorter developmental process.

Introduction: No prevalence/trends were reported in Chinese infants and preschool children at the national level in this historical period of 1980s-2000s. The objectives of this paper were to present the 20-year trends in prevalence and risk factors of obesity in children below 7 years., Methods: Data obtained from a series of three sequential national surveys performed using the same design in the same 9 cities in 1986, 1996 and 2006. Weight and height (length <3 years) were measured using unified procedures at each period. Obesity was defined as a weight-for-height ≥120% of median of the NCHS/WHO international reference. A population-based paired matching case-control study was employed for screening risk factors., Results: In 1986, there was no substantial obesity epidemic, but the overall obesity prevalence reached 3.4% (boys 4.1% and girls 2.7%) in 2006, rising by 2.8 times between 1986 and 2006. Reversed gender difference, relatively higher prevalence in preschool age and more rapid increase in the second 10-year were three very obvious characteristics in China, e.g. prevalence of boys 9.9% and girls 4.9% in 2006 and increasing rate of boys 0.45 percentage points per year (pp/y) and girls 0.21 pp/y at 6-7 years groups, 0.17 pp/y of the second 10-year higher 1-fold than previous., Conclusions: China has been moving into the alarming epidemic of childhood obesity. Effort should be immediately made to prevent further deterioration. High birth weight, high parental BMI and several behavioral and family-related factors were identified and had important practical value for obesity intervention.

Objective: To study the body cut-offs of mass index (BMI) for the purpose of screening overweight and obesity for Chinese children and adolescents aged 2 - 18 years., Methods: Based on the BMI growth reference values for Chinese children aged 0 - 18, using the common methods to establish the BMI cut-offs for screening overweight and obesity. These methods were having the same empirical percentile or Z scores and the BMI value at 18 years consistent with adults. Three sets of BMI cut-offs, including (BMI₂₄, BMI₂₈), (P₈₅, P₉₅) and (Z₁, Z₂), were initially identified. Differences were compared on different cut-off points and prevalence rates of overweight and obesity with different BMI reference, different values and "prevalence" of overweight and obesity based on "2004 Beijing Child and Adolescent Metabolic Syndrome Study". Cut-offs standards which recommended by the Chinese Working Group on Obesity for Children (WGOC) and by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) were also used. Finally the appropriate cut-offs were defined., Results: Three sets of BMI cut-offs for screening overweight and obesity for Chinese children and adolescents aged 2 - 18 years were obtained according to the above mentioned methods for selection. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity defined by those cut-offs appeared not to be significantly different. Compared with the WGOC, the BMI cut-off points for screening overweight and obesity for both boys and girls from our study were very close to the WGOC', but cut-off points for screening overweight for girls aged 8.5 - 15.5 y was 0.3 - 1.0 kg/m² lower than the WGOC'. Going through the database on screening of "2004 Beijing Children's Metabolic Syndrome Survey", the prevalence of overweight for girls was about 3.4% higher than using the cut-offs of WGOC., Conclusion: Results from this study suggested that the BMI cut-offs passed through the cut-off point of BMI₂₄ and BMI₂₈ at 18 years was appropriate for screening overweight and obesity in Chinese children from 2 to 18 years, and achieved the continuity in age and consistency in screening standard when using the BMI indicator in children and adolescents.

Aim: Obesity has been proved as one of the main risk factors for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) in the West. The objective of our research was to evaluate the relationship between obesity and the risk of GCA in people from North China., Methods: A total of 300 patients who had been diagnosed as GCA and had accepted surgical operation at Beijing Cancer Hospital from 1995 to 2002 were enrolled. Data were collected from pathology materials and hospital records. Two hundred and fifty-eight healthy people who had accepted health examination at the same hospital during the same period were enrolled as controls. Height, weight and gender of them at the time of examination were also collected. Obesity was estimated by body mass index (BMI), computed as weight in kilograms per square surface area (Kg/m2). The degree of obesity was determined by using BMI< or =18.5, 24-27.9 and > or =28 (Kg/m2) as the cut-off points for underweight/normal, overweight and obesity, respectively. Associations with obesity were estimated by odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). All ORs were adjusted for age and sex., Results: The mean level of BMI was significantly lower in the patient group than that in the control group. The ORs for obesity in age groups 30-59 and 60-79 were 1.15 (95% CI=0.37-3.65) and 0.16 (95% CI=0.05-0.44) for males and 0.78 (95% CI=0.26-2.36) and 0.28 (95% CI=0.04-2.05) for females, respectively. The ORs for underweight were 2.42 (95% CI=0.56-10.53) and 4.68 (95% CI=1.13-19.40) for males in age subgroups 30-59 and 60-79 and 40.7 (95% CI=9.32-177.92) for females older than 60 yrs. BMI was significantly associated with GCA (P<0.01). Underweight people were at high risk for GCA., Conclusion: BMI is an independent risk factor for GCA. Underweight is positively associated with GCA.