Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio in 7-year-old children—WHO Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative

Radka Taxová Braunerová, Marie Kunešová, Mirjam M. Heinen, Harry Rutter, Maria Hassapidou, Vesselka Duleva, Iveta Pudule, Aušra Petrauskienė, Agneta Sjöberg, Lauren Lissner, Igor Spiroski, Enrique Gutiérrez-González, Cecily C. Kelleher, Ingunn Holden Bergh, Tereza Metelcová, Jana Vignerová, Marek Brabec, Marta Buoncristiano, Julianne Williams, Philippa SimmondsHana Zamrazilová, Vojtěch Hainer, Agneta Yngve, Ivo Rakovac, João Breda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a serious global health problem. Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) reflect body fat distribution in children. The objectives of this study were to assess WC and WHtR in 7-year-old children and to determine body mass index (BMI), WC, and WHtR differences in children from 10 selected countries across Europe (Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Norway, Spain, and Sweden) participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI). The 50th and 90th percentile of WC (according to COSI and “Identification and prevention of Dietary- and lifestyle-induced health EFfects In Children and infantS” (IDEFICS) cutoff values) and WHtR above 0.5 were used as measures of abdominal obesity in a unique sample of 38,975 children aged 7.00–7.99 years. Southern European countries, including Greece and Spain, showed significantly higher BMI, WC, and WHtRin both genders (p < 0.0001) than Eastern and Northern Europe. The highest values for WC were observed in Greece (60.8 ± 7.36 cm boys; 60.3 ± 7.48 cm girls), North Macedonia (60.4 ± 7.91 cm boys; 59.0 ± 8.01 cm girls), and Spain (59.7 ± 6.96 cm boys; 58.9 ± 6.77 cm girls). WC and WHtRin may add an information about the occurrence of central obesity in children.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere13208
JournalObesity Reviews
Volume22
Issue numberS6
Early online date17 Aug 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge support through a grant from the Russian Government in the context of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs. Data collection in the countries was made possible through funding by Bulgaria: Ministry of Health, National Center of Public Health and Analyses, WHO Regional Office for Europe; Czechia: grants AZV MZČR 17‐31670 A and MZČR—RVO EÚ 00023761, WHO Regional Office for Europe and WHO Country Office; Greece: Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki (ATEITH) and Hellenic Medical Society for Obesity (HMSO); Ireland: Health Service Executive; Latvia: Ministry of Health; Lithuania: Science Foundation of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and Lithuanian Science Council and WHO; Republic of North Macedonia: funded by the Government of North Macedonia through National Annual Program of Public Health and implemented by the Institute of Public Health and Centers of Public Health in the country. WHO country office provided support for training and data management; Norway: The Norwegian Directorate of Health and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health; Spain: Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN); and Sweden: The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (for the eastern and northern parts of Sweden, the Karolinska Institute); funding for COSI Sweden 2008: The Swedish Research Council, The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 World Obesity Federation. The World Health Organization retains copyright and all other rights in the manuscript of this article as submitted for publication.

Keywords

  • childhood obesity
  • COSI
  • waist circumference
  • waist-to-height ratio

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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