ИСТИНА

Introduction. The proportion of overweight children has increased dramatically worldwide [WHO, 2017]. Judging by the observations from the 1990s, experts opined that the proportion of overweight children in Russia is growing slowly than in other countries [Wang et al., 2002, 2006; Jahns et al., 2003]. However, by the middle of the first decade of the 21th century it became clear that, at least in large cities, the spread of obesity among Russian children is gaining a very high rate [Dedov et al., 2007]. In recent decades, the rapid spread of "global obesity epidemic" continues at the cost of engulfing rural population [Bixby et al., 2019]. With this in mind, the monitoring of the situation in rural schoolchildren becomes particularly important. Unfortunately, there is no sufficient data to estimate the spread of overweight and obesity among children living in rural settlements and administrative centers (towns) in the North of the Russian Federation. Objectives. To assess the prevalence of overweight/obesity among schoolchildren in the rural areas of European and West-Siberian northern regions of Russia - the Komi Republic, Perm Krai, Murmansk Oblast, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. Methods. Children and adolescents aged 6-18 years were examined in the same schools at roughly decade intervals. The total sample included 5,760 subjects, from which 1808 were tested in 1994-98, 2080 in 2005-09, and 1872 in 2016-19. Overweight and obesity status were determined according the WHO screening recommendations and using its cut-off points for body mass index. Results. The common pattern of the growing number of children with excessive BMI is similar in all the regions, despite the geographical and economical differences. The prevalence of overweight In 1994-98 was 4-7% (including obesity 0.6-0.8%), in 2005-09 it was 12.9-15% (including obesity 0.9-4.0%), and in 2016-19 it became 23.9-26.6% (including obesity 7.7-13.0%). A comparison of the materials from large industrial centers, small towns, and villages did not reveal any differences (utilized the data collected in Perm Krai, Murmansk Oblast, and Archangelsk Oblast). Conclusions. Our observations affirm that overweight and obesity spread rapidly in children in northern and sub-Arctic regions of Russia. Among rural children, excessive body mass is as common as in their coevals in large and small towns. The pattern of prevalence of childhood obesity indicates that rural residents no less vulnerable to metabolic disorders than urbanites.