Consuming a healthy diet in childhood helps to protect against malnutrition and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This cross-sectional study described the diets of 132,489 children aged six to nine years from 23 countries participating in round four (2015–2017) of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI). Children’s parents or caregivers were asked to complete a questionnaire that contained indicators of energy-balance-related behaviors (including diet). For each country, we calculated the percentage of children who consumed breakfast, fruit, vegetables, sweet snacks or soft drinks “every day”, “most days (four to six days per week)”, “some days (one to three days per week)”, or “never or less than once a week”. We reported these results stratified by country, sex, and region. On a daily basis, most children (78.5%) consumed breakfast, fewer than half (42.5%) consumed fruit, fewer than a quarter (22.6%) consumed fresh vegetables, and around one in ten consumed sweet snacks or soft drinks (10.3% and 9.4%, respectively); however, there were large between-country differences. This paper highlights an urgent need to create healthier food and drink environments, reinforce health systems to promote healthy diets, and continue to support child nutrition and obesity surveillance.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Parents can act as important agents of change and support for healthy childhood growth and development. Studies have found that parents may not be able to accurately perceive their child’s weight status. The purpose of this study was to measure parental perceptions of their child’s weight status and to identify predictors of potential parental misperceptions. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We used data from the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative and 22 countries. Parents were asked to identify their perceptions of their children’s weight status as “underweight,” “normal weight,” “a little overweight,” or “extremely overweight.” We categorized children’s (6–9 years; <i>n</i> = 124,296) body mass index (BMI) as BMI-for-age Z-scores based on the 2007 WHO-recommended growth references. For each country included in the analysis and pooled estimates (country level), we calculated the distribution of children according to the WHO weight status classification, distribution by parental perception of child’s weight status, percentages of accurate, overestimating, or underestimating perceptions, misclassification levels, and predictors of parental misperceptions using a multilevel logistic regression analysis that included only children with overweight (<i>including</i> obesity). Statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 15 1. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, 64.1% of parents categorized their child’s weight status accurately relative to the WHO growth charts. However, parents were more likely to underestimate their child’s weight if the child had overweight (82.3%) or obesity (93.8%). Parents were more likely to underestimate their child’s weight if the child was male (adjusted OR [adjOR]: 1.41; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.28–1.55); the parent had a lower educational level (adjOR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.26–1.57); the father was asked rather than the mother (adjOR: 1.14; 95% CI: 0.98–1.33); and the family lived in a rural area (adjOR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.99–1.24). Overall, parents’ BMI was not strongly associated with the underestimation of children’s weight status, but there was a stronger association in some countries. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> Our study supplements the current literature on factors that influence parental perceptions of their child’s weight status. Public health interventions aimed at promoting healthy childhood growth and development should consider parents’ knowledge and perceptions, as well as the sociocultural contexts in which children and families live.

The results of epidemiological studies of risk factors for the development of dystrophic diseases of the vulva (DDV) in women of reproductive and perimenopausal age are presented. Authors executed the testing of DDV patients according to specially developed questions of the questionnaire, aimed at the obtaining of the most complete information about the lifestyle of patients, social and medical factors, possibly contributing to the occurrence and formation of DDV. Also, the authors performed an examination of patients for the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and urogenital infections in order to clarify the infectious factor in the genesis of dystrophy of the vulva. Direct and indirect factors that contribute to the formation of dystrophic diseases of the vulva in women are established to be as follows: perimenopausal age; endocrine diseases; emotional stress of a social character; more than 3 pregnancies in anamnesis; presence of STIs (herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus) and inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs; presence of Candida fungi, Ureaplasma urealyticum bacteria, human papillomavirus - HPV 16/18, HPV 31/33 and some other infections on the background of DDV; lack of information about the disease; discharge from the genital tract; lack of treatment-effect; inappropriate treatment. The identified factors should be taken into account in the development of therapeutic and preventive measures in relation to DDV in women.