Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries

Angela Spinelli; Marta Buoncristiano; Viktoria Anna Kovacs; Agneta Yngve; Igor Spiroski; Galina Obreja; Gregor Starc; Napoleón Pérez; Ana Isabel Rito; Marie Kunešová; Victoria Farrugia Sant'Angelo; Jørgen Meisfjord; Ingunn Holden Bergh; Cecily Kelleher; Nazan Yardim; Iveta Pudule; Ausra Petrauskiene; Vesselka Duleva; Agneta Sjöberg; Andrea Gualtieri; Maria Hassapidou; Jolanda Hyska; Genc Burazeri; Constanta Huidumac Petrescu; Mirjam Heinen; Hajnalka Takacs; Hana Zamrazilová; Tulay Bagci Bosi; Elena Sacchini; Ioannis Pagkalos; Alexandra Cucu; Paola Nardone; Paul Gately; Julianne Williams; João Breda

doi:10.1159/000500436

Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries

Angela Spinelli, Marta Buoncristiano, Viktoria Anna Kovacs, Agneta Yngve, Igor Spiroski, Galina Obreja, Gregor Starc, Napoleón Pérez, Ana Isabel Rito, Marie Kunešová, Victoria Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Jørgen Meisfjord, Ingunn Holden Bergh, Cecily Kelleher, Nazan Yardim, Iveta Pudule, Ausra Petrauskiene, Vesselka Duleva, Agneta Sjöberg, Andrea GualtieriMaria Hassapidou, Jolanda Hyska, Genc Burazeri, Constanta Huidumac Petrescu, Mirjam Heinen, Hajnalka Takacs, Hana Zamrazilová, Tulay Bagci Bosi, Elena Sacchini, Ioannis Pagkalos, Alexandra Cucu, Paola Nardone, Paul Gately, Julianne Williams, João Breda

Istituto Superiore di Sanita'

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established more than 10 years ago to estimate prevalence and monitor changes in overweight and obesity in children aged 6-9 years. Since then, there have been five rounds of data collection in more than 40 countries involving more than half a million children. To date, no comparative studies with data on severe childhood obesity from European countries have been published.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to present the prevalence of severe obesity in school-aged children from 21 countries participating in COSI.

METHOD: The data are from cross-sectional studies in 21 European WHO member states that took part in the first three COSI rounds of data collection (2007/2008, 2009/2010, 2012/2013). School-aged children were measured using standardized instruments and methodology. Children were classified as severely obese using the definitions provided by WHO and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Analyses overtime, by child's age and mother's educational level, were performed in a select group of countries.

RESULTS: A total of 636,933 children were included in the analysis (323,648 boys and 313,285 girls). The prevalence of severe obesity varied greatly among countries, with higher values in Southern Europe. According to the WHO definition, severe obesity ranged from 1.0% in Swedish and Moldovan children (95% CI 0.7-1.3 and 0.7-1.5, respectively) to 5.5% (95% CI 4.9-6.1) in Maltese children. The prevalence was generally higher among boys compared to girls. The IOTF cut-offs lead to lower estimates, but confirm the differences among countries, and were more similar for both boys and girls. In many countries 1 in 4 obese children were severely obese. Applying the estimates of prevalence based on the WHO definition to the whole population of children aged 6-9 years in each country, around 398,000 children would be expected to be severely obese in the 21 European countries. The trend between 2007 and 2013 and the analysis by child's age did not show a clear pattern. Severe obesity was more common among children whose mother's educational level was lower.

CONCLUSIONS: Severe obesity is a serious public health issue which affects a large number of children in Europe. Because of the impact on educational, health, social care, and economic systems, obesity needs to be addressed via a range of approaches from early prevention of overweight and obesity to treatment of those who need it.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	244-258
Number of pages	15
Journal	Obesity Facts
Volume	12
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1159/000500436
Publication status	Published - 2019

Keywords

Adolescent
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Europe/epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Obesity, Morbid/epidemiology
Overweight/epidemiology
Pediatric Obesity/epidemiology
Prevalence
Schools/statistics & numerical data
Students/statistics & numerical data
World Health Organization

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10.1159/000500436

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Spinelli, A., Buoncristiano, M., Kovacs, V. A., Yngve, A., Spiroski, I., Obreja, G., Starc, G., Pérez, N., Rito, A. I., Kunešová, M., Sant'Angelo, V. F., Meisfjord, J., Bergh, I. H., Kelleher, C., Yardim, N., Pudule, I., Petrauskiene, A., Duleva, V., Sjöberg, A., ... Breda, J. (2019). Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries. Obesity Facts, 12(2), 244-258. https://doi.org/10.1159/000500436

Spinelli, A, Buoncristiano, M, Kovacs, VA, Yngve, A, Spiroski, I, Obreja, G, Starc, G, Pérez, N, Rito, AI, Kunešová, M, Sant'Angelo, VF, Meisfjord, J, Bergh, IH, Kelleher, C, Yardim, N, Pudule, I, Petrauskiene, A, Duleva, V, Sjöberg, A, Gualtieri, A, Hassapidou, M, Hyska, J, Burazeri, G, Petrescu, CH, Heinen, M, Takacs, H, Zamrazilová, H, Bosi, TB, Sacchini, E, Pagkalos, I, Cucu, A, Nardone, P, Gately, P, Williams, J & Breda, J 2019, 'Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries', Obesity Facts, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 244-258. https://doi.org/10.1159/000500436

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title = "Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established more than 10 years ago to estimate prevalence and monitor changes in overweight and obesity in children aged 6-9 years. Since then, there have been five rounds of data collection in more than 40 countries involving more than half a million children. To date, no comparative studies with data on severe childhood obesity from European countries have been published.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to present the prevalence of severe obesity in school-aged children from 21 countries participating in COSI.METHOD: The data are from cross-sectional studies in 21 European WHO member states that took part in the first three COSI rounds of data collection (2007/2008, 2009/2010, 2012/2013). School-aged children were measured using standardized instruments and methodology. Children were classified as severely obese using the definitions provided by WHO and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Analyses overtime, by child's age and mother's educational level, were performed in a select group of countries.RESULTS: A total of 636,933 children were included in the analysis (323,648 boys and 313,285 girls). The prevalence of severe obesity varied greatly among countries, with higher values in Southern Europe. According to the WHO definition, severe obesity ranged from 1.0% in Swedish and Moldovan children (95% CI 0.7-1.3 and 0.7-1.5, respectively) to 5.5% (95% CI 4.9-6.1) in Maltese children. The prevalence was generally higher among boys compared to girls. The IOTF cut-offs lead to lower estimates, but confirm the differences among countries, and were more similar for both boys and girls. In many countries 1 in 4 obese children were severely obese. Applying the estimates of prevalence based on the WHO definition to the whole population of children aged 6-9 years in each country, around 398,000 children would be expected to be severely obese in the 21 European countries. The trend between 2007 and 2013 and the analysis by child's age did not show a clear pattern. Severe obesity was more common among children whose mother's educational level was lower.CONCLUSIONS: Severe obesity is a serious public health issue which affects a large number of children in Europe. Because of the impact on educational, health, social care, and economic systems, obesity needs to be addressed via a range of approaches from early prevention of overweight and obesity to treatment of those who need it.",

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author = "Angela Spinelli and Marta Buoncristiano and Kovacs, {Viktoria Anna} and Agneta Yngve and Igor Spiroski and Galina Obreja and Gregor Starc and Napole{\'o}n P{\'e}rez and Rito, {Ana Isabel} and Marie Kune{\v s}ov{\'a} and Sant'Angelo, {Victoria Farrugia} and J{\o}rgen Meisfjord and Bergh, {Ingunn Holden} and Cecily Kelleher and Nazan Yardim and Iveta Pudule and Ausra Petrauskiene and Vesselka Duleva and Agneta Sj{\"o}berg and Andrea Gualtieri and Maria Hassapidou and Jolanda Hyska and Genc Burazeri and Petrescu, {Constanta Huidumac} and Mirjam Heinen and Hajnalka Takacs and Hana Zamrazilov{\'a} and Bosi, {Tulay Bagci} and Elena Sacchini and Ioannis Pagkalos and Alexandra Cucu and Paola Nardone and Paul Gately and Julianne Williams and Jo{\~a}o Breda",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2019 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.",

year = "2019",

doi = "10.1159/000500436",

language = "English",

volume = "12",

pages = "244--258",

journal = "Obesity Facts",

issn = "1662-4025",

publisher = "S. Karger AG",

number = "2",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries

AU - Spinelli, Angela

AU - Buoncristiano, Marta

AU - Kovacs, Viktoria Anna

AU - Yngve, Agneta

AU - Spiroski, Igor

AU - Obreja, Galina

AU - Starc, Gregor

AU - Pérez, Napoleón

AU - Rito, Ana Isabel

AU - Kunešová, Marie

AU - Sant'Angelo, Victoria Farrugia

AU - Meisfjord, Jørgen

AU - Bergh, Ingunn Holden

AU - Kelleher, Cecily

AU - Yardim, Nazan

AU - Pudule, Iveta

AU - Petrauskiene, Ausra

AU - Duleva, Vesselka

AU - Sjöberg, Agneta

AU - Gualtieri, Andrea

AU - Hassapidou, Maria

AU - Hyska, Jolanda

AU - Burazeri, Genc

AU - Petrescu, Constanta Huidumac

AU - Heinen, Mirjam

AU - Takacs, Hajnalka

AU - Zamrazilová, Hana

AU - Bosi, Tulay Bagci

AU - Sacchini, Elena

AU - Pagkalos, Ioannis

AU - Cucu, Alexandra

AU - Nardone, Paola

AU - Gately, Paul

AU - Williams, Julianne

AU - Breda, João

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established more than 10 years ago to estimate prevalence and monitor changes in overweight and obesity in children aged 6-9 years. Since then, there have been five rounds of data collection in more than 40 countries involving more than half a million children. To date, no comparative studies with data on severe childhood obesity from European countries have been published.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to present the prevalence of severe obesity in school-aged children from 21 countries participating in COSI.METHOD: The data are from cross-sectional studies in 21 European WHO member states that took part in the first three COSI rounds of data collection (2007/2008, 2009/2010, 2012/2013). School-aged children were measured using standardized instruments and methodology. Children were classified as severely obese using the definitions provided by WHO and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Analyses overtime, by child's age and mother's educational level, were performed in a select group of countries.RESULTS: A total of 636,933 children were included in the analysis (323,648 boys and 313,285 girls). The prevalence of severe obesity varied greatly among countries, with higher values in Southern Europe. According to the WHO definition, severe obesity ranged from 1.0% in Swedish and Moldovan children (95% CI 0.7-1.3 and 0.7-1.5, respectively) to 5.5% (95% CI 4.9-6.1) in Maltese children. The prevalence was generally higher among boys compared to girls. The IOTF cut-offs lead to lower estimates, but confirm the differences among countries, and were more similar for both boys and girls. In many countries 1 in 4 obese children were severely obese. Applying the estimates of prevalence based on the WHO definition to the whole population of children aged 6-9 years in each country, around 398,000 children would be expected to be severely obese in the 21 European countries. The trend between 2007 and 2013 and the analysis by child's age did not show a clear pattern. Severe obesity was more common among children whose mother's educational level was lower.CONCLUSIONS: Severe obesity is a serious public health issue which affects a large number of children in Europe. Because of the impact on educational, health, social care, and economic systems, obesity needs to be addressed via a range of approaches from early prevention of overweight and obesity to treatment of those who need it.

AB - BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established more than 10 years ago to estimate prevalence and monitor changes in overweight and obesity in children aged 6-9 years. Since then, there have been five rounds of data collection in more than 40 countries involving more than half a million children. To date, no comparative studies with data on severe childhood obesity from European countries have been published.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work was to present the prevalence of severe obesity in school-aged children from 21 countries participating in COSI.METHOD: The data are from cross-sectional studies in 21 European WHO member states that took part in the first three COSI rounds of data collection (2007/2008, 2009/2010, 2012/2013). School-aged children were measured using standardized instruments and methodology. Children were classified as severely obese using the definitions provided by WHO and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). Analyses overtime, by child's age and mother's educational level, were performed in a select group of countries.RESULTS: A total of 636,933 children were included in the analysis (323,648 boys and 313,285 girls). The prevalence of severe obesity varied greatly among countries, with higher values in Southern Europe. According to the WHO definition, severe obesity ranged from 1.0% in Swedish and Moldovan children (95% CI 0.7-1.3 and 0.7-1.5, respectively) to 5.5% (95% CI 4.9-6.1) in Maltese children. The prevalence was generally higher among boys compared to girls. The IOTF cut-offs lead to lower estimates, but confirm the differences among countries, and were more similar for both boys and girls. In many countries 1 in 4 obese children were severely obese. Applying the estimates of prevalence based on the WHO definition to the whole population of children aged 6-9 years in each country, around 398,000 children would be expected to be severely obese in the 21 European countries. The trend between 2007 and 2013 and the analysis by child's age did not show a clear pattern. Severe obesity was more common among children whose mother's educational level was lower.CONCLUSIONS: Severe obesity is a serious public health issue which affects a large number of children in Europe. Because of the impact on educational, health, social care, and economic systems, obesity needs to be addressed via a range of approaches from early prevention of overweight and obesity to treatment of those who need it.

KW - Adolescent

KW - Child

KW - Cross-Sectional Studies

KW - Europe/epidemiology

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Obesity, Morbid/epidemiology

KW - Overweight/epidemiology

KW - Pediatric Obesity/epidemiology

KW - Prevalence

KW - Schools/statistics & numerical data

KW - Students/statistics & numerical data

KW - World Health Organization

U2 - 10.1159/000500436

DO - 10.1159/000500436

M3 - Article

C2 - 31030201

SN - 1662-4025

VL - 12

SP - 244

EP - 258

JO - Obesity Facts

JF - Obesity Facts

IS - 2

ER -

Prevalence of Severe Obesity among Primary School Children in 21 European Countries

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Keywords

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