Abstract
The scoliosis screening is often used in school children health check.And childhood obesity is seen as one of the most serious public health challenges in the 21st century. There is lacking of information about whether the prevalence of scoliosis is higher among children with overweight. Thus, the prevalence of scoliosis in school children was investigated in this study. One thousand and five school children (534 boys and 471 girls) aged 6 to 13 years participated in this study. Forward bending test was used to screen whether there is a possible scoliosis occurred in each child. The prevalence of scoliosis for 6 to 13-year-old children was 12.6% with an increasing trend with age. The prevalence of scoliosis was 10.9% in boys and 14.3% in girls. The percent of overweight and obese children was 35.8% and 9%. The prevalence of scoliosis was 12.6% in children with normal weight, 16.8% in children with overweight and 6.8% in children with obesity. Children with scoliosis were found to be taller (or older) than those without scoliosis (p<0.05). Further, the scoliosis effect and obesity effect were significant on some body dimensions such as shoulder height and hip girth. The prevalence of scoliosiswas found to be slightly higher in children with overweight and taller children. It is important to address the issue of scoliosis by emphasizing the importance of maintaining good posture for children with overweight.