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66 Chapter 2 Based on their BMI z-scores, 542 children (19.2%, 95% CI 17.8-20.7) were overweight, and 188 children (6.7%, 95% CI 5.8-7.7) were obese. There were significant differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity between boys and girls; overweight occurred more frequently in girls and the prevalence of obesity was higher in boys (Table 1). Overweight and obesitywere significantlymore prevalent in school children comparedwith adolescents; 21.7% vs 15.6% and 8.7% vs 3.7%, respectively ( P < .01). There were significant differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among regions across the country (Table 1). In accordance with these results, the mean BMI z-score differed significantly between regions; the mean BMI z-score was lowest in the Amazon (0.0, SD 1.0) and highest in the Pacific region (0.5, SD 1.1). TABLE 1. Prevalence of overweight, obesity and functional constipation Overweight n= 542 Obesity n= 188 P -value Functional constipation n =368 P -value Gender, n (%): Boys Girls 260 (17.8) 282 (20.7) 110 (7.5) 78 (5.7) .04 a 189 (13.0) 179 (13.2) .91 c Age School children, n (%) Adolescents, n (%) Mean age (SD) 361 (21.7) 181 (15.6) 11.8 (2.1) 145 (8.7) 43 (3.7) 11.2 (2.0) <.01 a <.01 b 247 (14.9) 121 (10.4) 11.5 (2.3) .01 c <.01 d School type, n (%): Private Public 96 (29.3) 446 (17.9) 34 (10.4) 154 (6.2) <.01 a 67 (20.4) 301 (12.1) <.01 c Prevalence per region, n (%): Pacific Atlantic Andes Amazon 170 (22.1) 200 (20.9) 121 (15.6) 51 (16.0) 79 (10.3) 59 (6.2) 41 (5.3) 9 (2.8) <.01 a 58 (7.5) 129 (13.5) 119 (15.4) 62 (19.4) <.01 a a Pearson χ 2 b One-way ANOVA, Games Howell: the mean age of all three weight categories differ significantly from each other c Fisher’s exact test (2-sided) d Independent samples t-test Based on the questionnaire, 368 children (13.0%, 95% CI 11.9-14.3) were found to have functional constipation according to the Rome III criteria. There was no significant difference in prevalence of functional constipation between boys and girls. Functional constipation was significantly more prevalent in school children compared with adolescents (14.9% vs 10.4%) and was significantly more prevalent in children attending private school compared with children attending public school (20.4% vs 12.1%; Table 1). The prevalence of functional constipation differed significantly among regions (Table 1).