Worldwide trends in childhood overweight and obesity

TLDR

Obesity is a global epidemic, yet child obesity remains poorly understood due to limited comparable data and inconsistent definitions across countries. This paper summarizes recent trends in child overweight and obesity prevalence. The authors searched PubMed for trend data from 1980–2005, supplemented by cited studies and expert input, and used these reports plus WHO Burden of Disease data to estimate global prevalence for 2006 and projected levels for 2010. Prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has risen in almost all countries studied, with trend data available for 25 school‑age and 42 pre‑school populations.

Abstract

Objectives. Obesity has become a global epidemic but our understanding of the problem in children is limited due to lack of comparable representative data from different countries, and varying criteria for defining obesity. This paper summarises the available information on recent trends in child overweight and obesity prevalence. Methods. PubMed was searched for data relating to trends over time, in papers published between January 1980 and October 2005. Additional studies identified by citations in retrieved papers and by consultation with experts were included. Data for trends over time were found for school-age populations in 25 countries and for pre-school populations in 42 countries. Using these reports, and data collected for the World Health Organization's Burden of Disease Program, we estimated the global prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-age children for 2006 and likely prevalence levels for 2010. Results. The prevalence of childhood overweight has increased in almost all countri...