Country-level and individual correlates of overweight and obesity among primary school children: a cross-sectional study in seven European countries

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Rowella Kuijpers¹  Roy Otten²  Sigita Lesinskiene³  Katherine M Keyes⁴  Christophe Fermanian⁵  Viviane Kovess⁵  Ondine Pez⁶  Dietmar Goelitz⁷  Mauro Giovanni Carta⁸  Zlatka Mihova⁹  Beatriz Olaya^1,10  Maria Victoria Moneta^1,10  Josep Maria Haro^1,10  Adina Bitfoi^1,11  Ceyda Eke^1,12 

[1] Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands;Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands;Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction (Trimbos Institute), Utrecht, Netherlands;Clinic of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania;Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, USA;EHESP Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, EA 4069 Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France;EHESP Rennes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, EA 4069 Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France;Departmental House for Adolescents (Maison Départementale des Adolescents), Hautes-Alpes, France;Institute of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau (Campus Koblenz), Koblenz, Germany;Liaison Pyschiatric Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy;New Bulgarian University, Sophia, Bulgaria;Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu (Universitat de Barcelona), Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain;Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain;The Romanian League for Mental Health, Bucharest, Romania;Yeniden Health and Education Society, Istanbul, Turkey;

关键词: Overweight;    Obesity;    School children;    Eastern and Western Europe;    Individual and population-level correlates;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-1809-z

 received in 2014-11-07, accepted in 2015-04-29,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Olaya et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015