Socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity among 6‐ to 9‐year‐old children in 24 countries from the World Health Organization European region

Abstract

Childhood overweight and obesity have significant short-and long-term negative impacts on children's health and well-being. These challenges are unequally distributed according to socioeconomic status (SES); however, previous studies have often lacked standardized and objectively measured data across national contexts to assess these differences. This study provides a cross-sectional picture of the association between SES and childhood overweight and obesity, based on data from 123,487 children aged 6-9 years in 24 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European region. Overall, associations were found between overweight/obesity and the three SES indicators used (parental education, parental employment status, and family-perceived wealth). Our results showed an inverse relationship between the prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity and parental education in high-income countries, whereas the opposite relationship was observed in most of the middleincome countries. The same applied to family-perceived wealth, although parental employment status appeared to be less associated with overweight and obesity or not associated at all. This paper highlights the need for close attention to context when designing interventions, as the association between SES and childhood

Thinness, overweight, and obesity in 6‐ to 9‐year‐old children from 36 countries: The World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative—COSI 2015–2017

“…For example, this is clear in Spain and Slovenia, the two countries that 31 and may be mainly explained by genetic, nutritional, socio-economic, and environmental factors. [32][33][34][35] Levels of thinness, stunting, and underweight were relatively low, except in Eastern Europe (for thinness) and the four Central Asian countries where these conditions reached a prevalence similar to that of obesity (around 3%-4%), as observed in other countries in this part of the world. 7,8 This "double burden" of malnutrition is common in many lower-middle-income countries and describes the coexistence of undernutrition along with overweight and obesity or diet-related noncommunicable diseases, within individuals, households, and populations, and across the life course.…”

Socioeconomic disparities in physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep patterns among 6‐ to 9‐year‐old children from 24 countries in the WHO European region

“…The variables are described in more detail elsewhere. 47 Finally, parental employment was defined in two stages. Parents were classified as "employed," "unemployed," or "inactive" based on the following answer options from the optional family record form: "employed" comprises the answers "government employed,"…”

Mobilizing governments and society to combat obesity: Reflections on how data from the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative are helping to drive policy progress

“…Not only have COSI data been important in raising awareness of the overall prevalence of childhood obesity, but they have also revealed differences between population groups. 72 These include geographical differences-the very large scale of data collection in Italy, for example, has enabled comparisons between the country's different regions and by parental socioeconomic conditions. 73 Differences by socioeconomic status have also been identified.…”