Childhood Obesity in Serbia on the Rise.

Predrag Božić,Szabolcs Halaši,Nebojša Trajković,Lidija Marković,Dragan Cvejić,Sergej M Ostojić,Višnja Đorđić

doi:10.3390/children8050409

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine changes in obesity prevalence among primary school children in Serbia between 2015 and 2019 rounds of the national WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI-Serbia). Cross-sectional studies were conducted in 2015 and 2019. The nationally representative samples of primary school children were measured for body height and weight, following the COSI protocol. Body Mass Index was calculated, and the IOTF and WHO definitions were used to classify children as overweight or obese. Participants were children of both sexes aged 7.00–8.99 years (n = 6105). Significant differences in overweight (obesity included) prevalence between two COSI rounds were identified regardless of definitions applied. According to the WHO definitions, prevalence of overweight and obesity combined increased in 7–9-year-old children in Serbia from 30.7% in 2015 to 34.8% in 2019 (z = −3.309, p < 0.05), and according to the IOTF standards, the increase from 22.8% to 30% was registered (z = −6.08, p = 0.00). The childhood overweight/obesity rate is increasing in Serbia, which places monitoring and surveillance of children’s nutritional status high on the public health agenda.

Highlights

The final sample consisted of 4861 participants (2386 girls) who entered the final analysis
In accordance with our results are the COSI data collected in the 2015/2017 round, where the prevalence of obesity was higher in boys in most countries, and the prevalence of overweight was higher in girls in two-thirds of countries [7]
This was confirmed in the neighboring country, using COSI methodology, showing that Croatia has one of the highest prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity among European countries, which was more frequent among boys [21]

Summary

Introduction

Obesity is an alarming global health problem, with more than 107 million children and 603 million adults affected [1]. It is defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health [2]. Many studies suggest that the prevalence of obesity depends on different factors such as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and parent’s level of education [3,4,5]. The prevalence of obesity has increased both in children and adults, yet in many countries, the increase is higher in children. As for the European countries, the number of children with obesity seems to have stabilized in the last decades, with substantial regional differences [6]. The highest prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were reported in the Mediterranean region, while in the Atlantic region, the rates were the lowest

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion