Prevalence of overweight and obesity in European children below the age of 10

Abstract

on behalf of the IDEFICS consortium BACKGROUND: There is a lack of common surveillance systems providing comparable figures and temporal trends of the prevalence of overweight (OW), obesity and related risk factors among European preschool and school children. Comparability of available data is limited in terms of sampling design, methodological approaches and quality assurance. The IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of Dietary-and lifestyle-induced health Effects in Children and infantS) study provides one of the largest European data sets of young children based on state-of-the-art methodology. OBJECTIVE: To assess the European distribution of weight status according to different classification systems based on body mass index (BMI) in children (2.0-9.9 years). To describe the prevalence of weight categories by region, sex, age and socioeconomic position. DESIGN: Between 2007 and 2010, 18 745 children from eight European countries participated in an extensive, highly standardised protocol including, among other measures, anthropometric examinations and parental reports on socio-demographic characteristics. RESULTS: The combined prevalence of OW/obesity ranges from more than 40% in southern Europe to less than 10% in northern Europe. Overall, the prevalence of OW was higher in girls (21.1%) as compared with boys (18.6%). The prevalence of OW shows a negative gradient with social position, with some variation of the strength and consistency of this association across Europe. Overall, population groups with low income and/or lower education levels show the highest prevalence of obesity. The use of different reference systems to classify OW results in substantial differences in prevalence estimates and can even reverse the reported difference between boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: There is a higher prevalence of obesity in populations from southern Europe and in population groups with lower education and income levels. Our data confirm the need to develop and reinforce European public health policies to prevent early obesity and to reduce these health inequalities and regional disparities.

C-reactive protein reference percentiles among pre-adolescent children in Europe based on the IDEFICS study population

“…Our analysis group did not differ substantially from the whole study population (see Ahrens et al 33 on prevalence of overweight; this issue). Median CRP levels ranged from 0.2 to 0.3 mg l − 1 in all countries, except for Italy where median CRP levels were higher (0.5 mg l .…”

Pester power and its consequences: do European children’s food purchasing requests relate to diet and weight outcomes?

“…The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of weight status differs from other reference systems, resulting in different prevalences of overweight and obesity. A comparison of the prevalences observed using different classifications systems in the IDEFICS cohort is published elsewhere (31) . The secondary outcomes were propensity to consume foods high in sugar and foods high in fat based on the food frequency section of the Children's Eating Habits Questionnaire (CEHQ-FFQ).…”

Perinatal and lifestyle factors mediate the association between maternal education and preschool children's weight status: the ToyBox study

“…A limited number of available studies indicate an increasing trend in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool years. Moreover, evidence suggests that there are marked differences in this trend among socioeconomic groups and regions across Europe, as well as among families with overweight/ obese parents [1][2][3]. In addition, previous studies have further highlighted the multifactorial etiology of obesity in preschool childhood, with several risk factors reported to exert their effect on the manifestation of the obesity phenotype from very early developmental stages, such as during the perinatal period or through energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) adopted in the preschool years [4][5][6][7].…”