Abstract
The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to examine dietary patterns and the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity among Serbian children. Furthermore, the study analyzed the association between dietary patterns and weight status. A nationally representative sample of 6–9-year-old children (n = 3,067) was evaluated as part of the Fifth Round World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative. The children's height and weight were measured by trained field examiners, while their parents or guardians filled paper versions of the food frequency questionnaire to collect information related to the child's breakfast habits and food and beverage intake. According to the International Obesity Task Force cut-off points, the overall prevalence of overweight (including obesity) and underweight were 28.9 and 8.1%, respectively. The majority of parents reported that their children (84.5%) had breakfast every day, while only 39.5 and 37% of children had daily fruit and vegetable consumption, respectively. The children who do not eat breakfast every day are more likely to be obese (OR = 1.50), while a higher intake frequency of nutrient-poor beverages such as soft drinks increases the risk of being not only overweight (OR = 1.32) but also underweight (OR = 1.39). Regular monitoring and understanding of dietary patterns and weight status is crucial to inform, design, and implement strategies to reduce national and global diet and obesity-related diseases. Urgent actions need to be taken from public policymakers to stop and reverse the increasing trend of overweight (including obesity) among Serbian children.
Highlights
Overweight and obesity in children are among the most severe public health problems that have increased dramatically during the last decades at the global and European levels [1]
We found lower values in girls for body height (p < 0.01) and weight (p < 0.05) but not for BMI or neither for distribution in the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) body weight status categories
The present study investigated the weight status and dietary patterns of 6–9-year-old Serbian children
Summary
Overweight and obesity in children are among the most severe public health problems that have increased dramatically during the last decades at the global and European levels [1]. Being overweight during childhood is associated with obesity and adverse health consequences throughout the life-span [5], reducing the average age at which non-communicable diseases and disabilities or the likelihood of mortality become apparent [6] It has Dietary Patterns and Weight Status of Children received less scientific scrutiny and is not regularly monitored, thinness or underweight could harmfully affect child health, growth, and well-being in various ways, including nutritional deficiencies, menstrual irregularity, impaired immune system, osteoporosis, anemia, anorexia nervosa, hypotension, and decreased cognitive and work capacity [7,8,9,10]. The average dietary patterns among children and adolescents are shifted to more prepared and processed fast-foods and diets high in fat, sugar, and salt [16, 17] Unhealthy habits, such as skipping breakfast [18] and eating outside the home more frequently [1], increase the consumption of high energy-dense and nutrition poor foods. Dietary habits acquired during childhood tend to persist into adulthood [20], making nutrition in childhood an essential public health issue
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