Open AccessWeight Status of 7-Year-Old Hungarian Children between 2010 and 2016 Using Different Classifications (COSI Hungary)
Author(s) -
Kovacs Viktoria Anna,
Bakacs Marta,
Kaposvari Csilla,
Illes Eva,
Erdei Gergo,
Martos Eva,
Breda Joao
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
obesity facts
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.398
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1662-4033
pISSN - 1662-4025
DOI - 10.1159/000487327
Subject(s) - research article
Aims: To describe the prevalence of thinness, overweight, and obesity in Hungarian children (age 7.0-7.9 years) according to different classifications, to assess the progress between 2010 and 2016, and to investigate whether tendencies differ according to gender. Methods: A national representative sample was generated by two-stage cluster sampling, and a total of 2,651 children (50.9% boys; age 7.49 ± 0.3 years) were measured (weight and height) in October 2016. Population estimates were calculated using the WHO, IOTF, and national cut-offs. Results: Prevalence of thinness (including grade 1 and 2) was 12.6% based on the IOTF criteria and 15.6% based on the WHO definition. 22.5% of children were identified as overweight or obese according to the IOTF classification, compared with 28.4% according to the WHO definition. Between 2010 and 2016, each classication indicated possible stability in overweight and obesity prevalence. In contrast, the prevalence of thinness grade 2 almost doubled in 6 years according to all definitions (p < 0.05). No significant gender difference was observed in the progress. Conclusion: Overweight and obesity appeared to be stable over 6 years, but we detected growing thinness rates. Routine collection of high-quality data that are based on standardized and comparable methods is essential to monitor the childhood obesity problem.