Prevalence of overweight and obesity in a national representative sample of Greek children and adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Greek school age children and adolescents. Nationwide representative survey. Primary and secondary schools all over Greece. In all, 6448 students (50.4% boys, 49.6% girls) 6-17 years old. A nationwide multistage procedure was followed to obtain a representative sample of youths. Body mass and height were measured by trained personnel. Data were collected between October 1990 and May 1991. According to the 12-month-International Obesity Task Force cutoff values, the overall prevalence of overweight was 17.3% (16.9% for boys, 17.6% for girls). The rate of obesity was 3.6% (3.8% for boys, 3.3% for girls). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was decreasing with age in girls (6-9 years: 23.2 and 6.7%, respectively, 10-17 years: 14.8 and 1.6%, respectively). In boys, the prevalence of overweight was higher in 10-17 years (19.3 and 2.7%, for the rate of overweight and obesity, respectively) than in 6-9 years (12.1 and 5.9%, respectively). The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Greek children and adolescents is comparable to that reported for most European countries.