Overweight and Obesity Prevalence in Young Children Living in Athens

Abstract

Background: The last decades, the epidemiological dimensions of childhood obesity are of major concern worldwide. Given its long-term health consequences, research findings regarding overweight and obesity prevalence in young children are valuable if policies against childhood obesity are to be planned and implemented. As Greece, is one of the countries facing the problem of obesity, the aim of the present study was to assess overweight and obesity status in young children living in the capital of Greece, Athens. Methods: Seven hundred and fifty-two children (320 boys; 432 girls), aged 4-8 years (6.37±1.17 years) volunteered to participate and were divided into four age groups (4-5, 5-6, 6-7 and 7-8-year-old). Children's body mass index (BMI) was calculated by dividing each participant's weight (kg) by the square of standing body height (m 2 ). Overweight and obesity definition was based on the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) gender-and age-specific cut-off criteria. Results: The overall prevalence of overweight was 18.2% (18.1% boys; 18.3% girls) and of obesity 7.4% (5.6% boys; 8.8% girls). The χ 2 tests revealed that there were no significant differences in prevalence of overweight or obesity between boys and girls (χ 2 =2.76, p=.25). Regarding age groups, there was only one significant difference; that was between 6 and 7-year-old boys, with the 7-year-old surpassing the 6-year-old. Conclusions: The overweight/obesity is apparent among young Greek children at alarming levels. Carefully designed policy interventions are of great importance in order children's dietary and physical activity patterns to be improved.

The association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and childhood obesity; the role of family structure: Results from an epidemiological study in 1728 Greek students

“…The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the studied sample was high (i.e., 26.7%). This is in line with the prevalence of overweight/obesity in a Greek sample presented by Afthentopoulou et al (2017) which was approximately 26%. However, it is significantly lower than the prevalence reported by the Greek Childhood Obesity study (i.e., 41.2%) conducted on similar aged students (Farajian et al, 2011) as well as the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity revealed by a meta-analysis in Greek children, aged 1–12 years which was 34.0% (Kotanidou et al, 2013).…”