Evidence that the prevalence of childhood overweight is plateauing: data from nine countries

Authors: Olds, Tim¹; Maher, Carol¹; Zumin, Shi²; Péneau, Sandrine³; Lioret, Sandrine⁴; Castetbon, Katia⁵; Bellisle³; de Wilde, Jeroen⁶; Hohepa, Maea⁷; Maddison, Ralph⁸; Lissner, Lauren⁹; Sjöberg, Agneta⁹; Zimmermann, Michael¹⁰; Aeberli, Isabelle¹⁰; Ogden, Cynthia¹¹; Flegal, Katherine¹¹; Summerbell, Carolyn¹²

Source: International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, Volume 6, Numbers 5-6, October 2011 , pp. 342-360(19)

Publisher: Informa Healthcare

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Abstract:

<title>Abstract</title>

Until quite recently, there has been a widespread belief in the popular media and scientific literature that the prevalence of childhood obesity is rapidly increasing. However, high quality evidence has emerged from several countries suggesting that the rise in the prevalence has slowed appreciably, or even plateaued. This review brings together such data from nine countries (Australia, China, England, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and USA), with data from 467,294 children aged 2-19 years. The mean unweighted rate of change in prevalence of overweight and obesity was ++0.00 (0.49)% per year across all age ×sex groups and all countries between 1995 and 2008. For overweight alone, the figure was ++0.01 (0.56)%, and for obesity alone −0.01 (0.24)%. Rates of change differed by sex, age, socioeconomic status and ethnicity. While the prevalence of overweight and obesity appears to be stabilizing at different levels in different countries, it remains high, and a significant public health issue. Possible reasons for the apparent flattening are hypothesised.

Keywords: Child; adolescent; obesity; overweight; prevalence; international

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17477166.2011.605895

Affiliations: 1: 1Health and Use of Time Group, Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia 2: 2Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210009, China 3: 4Unité de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle, Bobigny, France 4: 5French Food Safety Agency, Dietary Survey Unit - Nutritional Epidemiology, Maisons-Alfort, France 5: 6French Institute for Health Surveillance (InVS), Université Paris 13, Unité de surveillance et d'épidémiologie nutritionnelle, Bobigny, France 6: 7Municipal Health Service The Hague, Department of Epidemiology, Department of School Health Care, The Netherlands 7: 8Sport and Recreation New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand 8: 9Clinical Trials Research Unit, Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand 9: 10Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Public Health Epidemiology Unit, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden 10: 11Laboratory for Human Nutrition, Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Switzerland 11: 13Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Maryland, USA 12: 14John Snow College, School of Medicine & Health, the Wolfson Research Institute, Stockton, UK

Publication date: 2011-10-01

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Evidence that the prevalence of childhood overweight is plateauing: data from nine countries

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