Prevalence of overweight among children in Europe

Estimates of the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity have been made in several European countries during the last decade. The methods used and the assessment criteria differ from survey to survey. The present paper reports the prevalence data from 21 surveys in Europe using a single, internationally accepted definition of overweight in childhood, allowing direct comparisons to be made. A tendency for a higher prevalence of overweight among children in western and especially southern Europe is shown and some possible reasons for this are discussed.

[1]  T. Cole,et al.  Child and Adolescent Obesity: Measurement and definition , 2002 .

[2]  M. Perry.  Child and Adolescent Obesity: Causes and Consequences, Prevention and Management , 2003 .

[3]  T. Cole,et al.  Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey , 2000, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[4]  E. Goodman.  Letting the "Gini" out of the bottle: social causation and the obesity epidemic. , 2003, The Journal of pediatrics.

[5]  B. Popkin,et al.  The nutrition transition in Spain: a European Mediterranean country , 2002, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[6]  C. Ebbeling,et al.  Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure , 2002, The Lancet.

[7]  F. Bellisle,et al.  Body mass index in 7–9-y-old French children: frequency of obesity, overweight and thinness , 2002, International Journal of Obesity.

[8]  B. Swinburn,et al.  An “ecological” approach to the obesity pandemic , 1997, BMJ.

[9]  Lluís Serra Majem,et al.  Obesidad infantil y juvenil en España. Resultados del Estudio enKid (1998-2000) , 2003 .

[10]  R. Hurrell,et al.  A national study of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 6–12 y-old Swiss children: body mass index, body-weight perceptions and goals , 2000, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[11]  D. Sellen,et al.  Genetics of Criminal and Antisocial Behaviour. Ciba Foundation Symposium 194. Pp. 283. Edited by G. R. Bock & J. A. Goode. (Wiley, Chichester, 1996.) £50.00. , 1998, Journal of Biosocial Science.

[12]  B. Popkin,et al.  Trends of obesity and underweight in older children and adolescents in the United States, Brazil, China, and Russia. , 2002, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[13]  Assessment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity. Results from an International Obesity Task Force workshop. Dublin, June 16, 1997. , 1999, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[14]  T J Cole,et al.  Increasing levels of excess weight among children in England , 2003, International Journal of Obesity.

[15]  A. Kafatos,et al.  Obesity in children and adolescents in Cyprus. Prevalence and predisposing factors , 2002, International Journal of Obesity.

[16]  Y. Manios,et al.  Health and nutrition education in primary schools of Crete: changes in chronic disease risk factors following a 6-year intervention programme , 2002, British Journal of Nutrition.

[17]  A. Must,et al.  Risks and consequences of childhood and adolescent obesity , 1999, International Journal of Obesity.

[18]  A. R. Frisancho.  Physical Status: The Use and Interpretation of Anthropometry , 1996, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[19]  C. Yajnik,et al.  Interactions of perturbations in intrauterine growth and growth during childhood on the risk of adult-onset disease , 2000, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.

[20]  E. Keller,et al.  Alterations in height, weight, and body mass index of newborns, children, and young adults in eastern Germany after German reunification. , 2003, The Journal of pediatrics.

[21]  W. Dietz,et al.  Introduction: the use of body mass index to assess obesity in children. , 1999, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[22]  A. Truswell.  Cereal grains and coronary heart disease , 2002, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[23]  C. Bouchard,et al.  Genetic influences on the response of body fat and fat distribution to positive and negative energy balances in human identical twins. , 1997, The Journal of nutrition.

[24]  M. Guillaume,et al.  Child and Adolescent Obesity: Epidemiology , 2002 .

[25]  G. Krassas.  Thyroid Eye Disease in Children and Adolescents - New Therapeutic Approaches , 2001, Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM.

[26]  J M Wit,et al.  Body index measurements in 1996–7 compared with 1980 , 2000, Archives of disease in childhood.

[27]  T. Tzotzas,et al.  Prevalence and trends in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Thessaloniki, Greece. , 2001, Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM.

[28]  M. Vermorel,et al.  Longitudinal changes in body composition, physical capacities and energy expenditure in boys and girls during the onset of puberty , 2000, European journal of nutrition.

[29]  Berthold Koletzko,et al.  Breast feeding and obesity: cross sectional study , 1999, BMJ.

[30]  T. Cole,et al.  Child and adolescent obesity: causes and consequences, prevention and management. , 2002 .

[31]  P. B. Eveleth,et al.  Physical Status: The Use and Interpretation of Anthropometry. Report of a WHO Expert Committee , 1996 .

[32]  A. Roche,et al.  The predictive value of childhood body mass index values for overweight at age 35 y. , 1994, The American journal of clinical nutrition.

[33]  D. Allison,et al.  Genetic and Environmental Influences on Obesity , 2001 .

[34]  Youfa Wang,et al.  A comparison of international references for the assessment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity in different populations† , 2002, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[35]  P. Björntorp,et al.  Familial trends of obesity through three generations: the Belgian-Luxembourg child study. , 1995, International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.