Dr. Liang Wang Publishes Article in Scientific Reports

Dr. Liang Wang, Associate Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at East Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health, has co-first authored an article in Scientific Reports. The article titled, “Associations between general and central obesity and hypertension among children: The Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-Cities”, examines obesity and hypertension prevalence in children across four mega-cities in China.

Obesity is becoming an epidemic in many countries; however, results from past studies on obesity and hypertension in children have been inconclusive. Additionally, few of these studies compared the differences between male and female children. Dr. Wang’s research team collected data for The Childhood Obesity Study in 2015 from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xi’an, and examines obesity, central obesity, and hypertension in children and compared sex differences to address gaps in previous research.

The study found that almost twice as many boys had general and central obesity than girls. There was no significant difference in hypertension between the two sexes, however, 9% of children living in mega-cities in China were shown to have hypertension, and children with obesity and central obesity were more likely to have hypertension than those who were not obese. These rates are higher than the reported national average.

In the past decade, the U.S. has seen stable or declining childhood obesity, but China has seen an increase. The results of the study suggest that programs and policies need to be implemented at national, regional, and local levels to decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity in China. Schools will play an important role in preventing childhood obesity, from physical activities to providing healthy food choices. Programs and policies that are implemented to fight childhood obesity in China should have a focus on schools.

Co-authors include Yaling Zhao of the Global Health Institute and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Bo Xue of the Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety Risk Monitoring at the Shaanxi Provincial Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, and Youfa Wang, also of the Global Health Institute and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Xi’an Jiaotong University Health Science Center.

Scientific Reports is an open access, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal that publishes articles from all areas of natural and clinical science.