Shao-Ping Nie

Relationships between Weight Status and Bullying Victimization among School-aged Adolescents in Guangdong Province of China

OBJECTIVE To examine relationships between weight status and different forms of bullying victimization among adolescents aged 11-18 years. METHODS The relationships between weight status and bullying victimization (physical, verbal, and relational) were examined utilizing data from the Guangdong Provincial Youth Health Behavior Survey. Data on height, weight, and victimization behaviors were collected by self-reporting from 12 439 subjects. , test and logistic regression were used to analyze relationships between weight and bullying victimization. RESULTS The incidence of victimization for adolescents aged 11-18 years was 8.6%, with higher rates for boys (12.4%) than for girls (4.7%). For children with normal, overweight and obese body mass index (BMI), the incidence rates of victimization were 8.2%, 17.3%, and 11.5%, respectively. Compared to normal weight, overweight was a risk factor for bullying victimization(OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.18-2.17), and it also increased childrens risk of being teased in a hurtful way (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.41-3.24) and being made fun of due to physical appearance (OR = 3.58, 95% CI: 2.27-5.67). Obesity only increased the risk for children of being made fun of due to physical appearance (OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.44-4.15). CONCLUSIONS The victimization for children at school is common in Guangdong province, China. Overweight and obese children are more likely to be victims of bullying behaviors, especially verbal victimization.

Nonfatal child pedestrian injury in two urban cities of Guangdong Province, China: results from a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE To describe the epidemiological characteristics of nonfatal child pedestrian injuries and provide information to help understand an important public-health problem. METHODS This was a school-based, cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The sample (42 750 children) was obtained from two urban cities of Guangdong Province, China, using multi-stage randomized sampling. Information was collected by the respondents self-reporting in the classroom. RESULTS The incidence rate of nonfatal child pedestrian injuries in the cities was 2.0%. Boys had a higher incidence rate (2.6%) than girls (1.4%). Compared to other children, those aged 10 years are at the highest risk. The primary places of occurrence were sidewalks, residential roads, and crosswalks. High-risk behavior of the children immediately prior to injury included mid-block crossings, playing on roads, and crossing on red lights. The major vehicles that caused pedestrian injuries were bicycles, car or vans, and motorcycles. Bruises, fractures, and injuries to the internal organs were the top three types of injuries. Almost 40% of victims were hospitalized, and nearly 30% of the victims suffered long-term disabilities. CONCLUSION This study shows that nonfatal child pedestrian injuries are a very serious public-health problem in the urban cities of Guangdong. Based on the epidemiological characteristics, prevention strategies and further research should be carried out to reduce the occurrence of injuries.