Abstract
BackgroundThe present study aims to estimate childhood overweight and obesity prevalence and their association with individual and population-level correlates in Eastern and Western European countries.MethodsData were obtained from the School Children Mental Health in Europe, a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2010 in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Turkey. The sample consists of 5,206 school children aged 6 to 11 years old. Information on socio-demographics, children’s height and weight, life-style and parental attitude were reported by the mothers. Country-level indicators were obtained through several data banks. Overweight and obesity in children were calculated according to the international age and gender-specific child Body Mass Index cut-off points. Multivariable logistic regression models included socio-demographic, lifestyle, mothers’ attitude, and country-level indicators to examine the correlates of overweight.ResultsOverall prevalence was 15.6% (95% CI = 19.3-21.7%) for overweight and 4.9% (95% CI = 4.3-5.6%) for obesity. In overweight (including obesity), Romanian children had the highest prevalence (31.4%, 95% CI = 28.1-34.6%) and Italian the lowest (10.4%, 95% CI = 8.1-12.6%). Models in the pooled sample showed that being younger (aOR = 0.93, 95% = CI 0.87-0.97), male (aOR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.07-1.43), an only child (aOR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.07-1.84), spending more hours per week watching TV (aOR = 1.01, 95% CI =1.002-1.03), and living in an Eastern Country were associated with greater risk of childhood overweight (including obesity). The same predictors were significantly associated with childhood overweight in the model conducted in the Eastern region, but not in the West. Higher Gross Domestic Product and Real Domestic Product, greater number of motor and passenger vehicles, higher percentage of energy available from fat, and more public sector expenditure on health were also associated with lower risk for childhood overweight after adjusting for covariables in the pooled sample and in the east of Europe, but not in the West.ConclusionsPrevalence rates of overweight and obesity in school children is still high, especially in Eastern regions, with some socio-demographic factors and life-styles associated with being overweight. It is also in the Eastern region itself where better macro-economic indicators are related with lower rates of childhood overweight. This represents a public health concern that deserves special attention in those countries undertaking economic and political transitions.
Highlights
The present study aims to estimate childhood overweight and obesity prevalence and their association with individual and population-level correlates in Eastern and Western European countries
Results were similar in Eastern Europe: school children who were younger, male, only children, and living in Romania, Turkey, or Bulgaria, Table 3 Association between socio-demographic, lifestyles and parenting attitudes with childhood overweight Adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR)
One of the most striking results is the clear difference between Eastern and Western Europe: the proportion of overweight and obesity was 24.5% in Eastern samples and 11.9% in the Western regions, with Romanian children having the highest prevalence of overweight problems (31.4%) and Italians the lowest (10.4%)
Summary
The present study aims to estimate childhood overweight and obesity prevalence and their association with individual and population-level correlates in Eastern and Western European countries. Lobstein and Frelut [7] provided estimates of overweight and obesity in children aged 7–11 years old from nationally representative surveys of 21 European countries during the 1990s using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria and anthropometric measures. Existing research suggests that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children is higher in Western Countries [7,8]. These studies were based on surveys conducted during the 1990’s [7] or early 2000’s [8] and this trend might have been inverted in the last years. Comparable data on school children from different European countries using the same survey and methodology are still needed to guide future health policies
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