Browsing by Author "Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria"
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- Mobilizing governments and society to combat obesity: Reflections on how data from the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative are helping to drive policy progressPublication . Breda, João; Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria; Duleva, Vesselka; Galeone, Daniela; Heinen, Mirjam M.; Kelleher, Cecily C.; Menzano, Maria Teresa; Musić Milanović, Sanja; Mitchell, Lachlan; Pudule, Iveta; Rito, Ana Isabel; Shengelia, Lela; Spinelli, Angela; Spiroski, Igor; Yardim, Nazan; Buoncristiano, Marta; Williams, Julianne; Rakovac, Ivo; McColl, KarenTo meet the need for regular and reliable data on the prevalence of overweight andobesity among children in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) EuropeanChildhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established in 2007. Theresulting robust surveillance system has improved understanding of the public healthchallenge of childhood overweight and obesity in the WHO European Region. For the past decade, data from COSI have helped to inform and drive policy action onnutrition and physical activity in the region. This paper describes illustrative examplesof how COSI data have fed into national and international policy, but the real scopeof COSI's impact is likely to be much broader. In some countries, there are signs thatpolicy responses to COSI data have helped halt the rise in childhood obesity. As thecountries of the WHO European Region commit to pursuing United Action for BetterHealth in Europe in WHO's new European Programme of Work, COSI provides anexcellent example of such united action in practice. Further collaborative action willbe key to tackling this major public health challenge which affects children through-out the region
- Socioeconomic differences in food habits among 6- to 9-year-old children from 23 countries-WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI 2015/2017)Publication . Fismen, Anne‐Siri; Buoncristiano, Marta; Williams, Julianne; Helleve, Arnfinn; Abdrakhmanova, Shynar; Bakacs, Márta; Bergh, Ingunn Holden; Boymatova, Khadichamo; Duleva, Vesselka; Fijałkowska, Anna; García‐Solano, Marta; Gualtieri, Andrea; Gutiérrez‐González, Enrique; Hejgaard, Tatjana; Huidumac‐Petrescu, Constanta; Hyska, Jolanda; Kelleher, Cecily C.; Kierkegaard, Lene; Kujundžić, Enisa; Kunešová, Marie; Milanović, Sanja Musić; Nardone, Paola; Nurk, Eha; Ostojic, Sergej M.; Ozcebe, Lütfiye Hilal; Peterkova, Valentina; Petrauskiene, Ausra; Pudule, Iveta; Rakhmatulleoeva, Sanavbar; Rakovac, Ivo; Rito, Ana Isabel; Rutter, Harry; Sacchini, Elena; Stojisavljević, Dragana; Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria; Shengelia, Lela; Spinelli, Angela; Spiroski, Igor; Tanrygulyyeva, Maya; Usupova, Zhamilya; Weghuber, Daniel; Breda, JoãoBackground: Socioeconomic differences in children's food habits are a key public health concern. In order to inform policy makers, cross-country surveillance studies of dietary patterns across socioeconomic groups are required. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and children's food habits. Methods: The study was based on nationally representative data from children aged 6-9 years (n = 129,164) in 23 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. Multivariate multilevel analyses were used to explore associations between children's food habits (consumption of fruit, vegetables, and sugar-containing soft drinks) and parental education, perceived family wealth and parental employment status. Results: Overall, the present study suggests that unhealthy food habits are associated with lower SES, particularly as assessed by parental education and family perceived wealth, but not parental employment status. We found cross-national and regional variation in associations between SES and food habits and differences in the extent to which the respective indicators of SES were related to children's diet. Conclusion: Socioeconomic differences in children's food habits exist in the majority of European and Asian countries examined in this study. The results are of relevance when addressing strategies, policy actions, and interventions targeting social inequalities in children's diets.
- Socioeconomic disparities in physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep patterns among 6- to 9-year-old children from 24 countries in the WHO European regionPublication . Musić Milanović, Sanja; Buoncristiano, Marta; Križan, Helena; Rathmes, Giulia; Williams, Julianne; Hyska, Jolanda; Duleva, Vesselka; Zamrazilová, Hana; Hejgaard, Tatjana; Jørgensen, Maja Bæksgaard; Salanave, Benoît; Shengelia, Lela; Kelleher, Cecily C.; Spinelli, Angela; Nardone, Paola; Abdrakhmanova, Shynar; Usupova, Zhamilya; Pudule, Iveta; Petrauskiene, Ausra; Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria; Kujundžić, Enisa; Fijałkowska, Anna; Rito, Ana Isabel; Cucu, Alexandra; Brinduse, Lacramioara Aurelia; Peterkova, Valentina; Gualtieri, Andrea; García‐Solano, Marta; Gutiérrez‐González, Enrique; Boymatova, Khadichamo; Yardim, Mahmut S.; Tanrygulyyeva, Maya; Melkumova, Marina; Weghuber, Daniel; Nurk, Eha; Mäki, Päivi; Bergh, Ingunn Holden; Ostojic, Sergej M.; Russell Jonsson, Kenisha; Spiroski, Igor; Rutter, Harry; Ahrens, Wolfgang; Rakovac, Ivo; Whiting, Stephen; Breda, JoãoPhysical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep are important predictors of children's health. This paper aimed to investigate socioeconomic disparities in physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep across the WHO European region. This cross-sectional study used data on 124,700 children aged 6 to 9 years from 24 countries participating in the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative between 2015 and 2017. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured through parental education, parental employment status, and family perceived wealth. Overall, results showed different patterns in socioeconomic disparities in children's movement behaviors across countries. In general, high SES children were more likely to use motorized transportation. Low SES children were less likely to participate in sports clubs and more likely to have more than 2 h/day of screen time. Children with low parental education had a 2.24 [95% CI 1.94-2.58] times higher risk of practising sports for less than 2 h/week. In the pooled analysis, SES was not significantly related to active play. The relationship between SES and sleep varied by the SES indicator used. Importantly, results showed that low SES is not always associated with a higher prevalence of "less healthy" behaviors. There is a great diversity in SES patterns across countries which supports the need for country-specific, targeted public health interventions.
- Socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity among 6‐ to 9‐year‐old children in 24 countries from the World Health Organization European regionPublication . Buoncristiano, Marta; Williams, Julianne; Simmonds, Philippa; Nurk, Eha; Ahrens, Wolfgang; Nardone, Paola; Rito, Ana Isabel; Rutter, Harry; Bergh, Ingunn Holden; Starc, Gregor; Jonsson, Kenisha Russell; Spinelli, Angela; Vandevijvere, Stefanie; Mäki, Päivi; Milanović, Sanja Musić; Salanave, Benoît; Yardim, Mahmut S.; Hejgaard, Tatjana; Fijałkowska, Anna; Abdrakhmanova, Shynar; Abdurrahmonova, Zulfiya; Duleva, Vesselka; Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria; García‐Solano, Marta; Gualtieri, Andrea; Gutiérrez‐González, Enrique; Huidumac‐Petrescu, Constanta; Hyska, Jolanda; Kelleher, Cecily C.; Kujundžić, Enisa; Peterkova, Valentina; Petrauskiene, Ausra; Pudule, Iveta; Sacchini, Elena; Shengelia, Lela; Tanrygulyyeva, Maya; Taxová Braunerová, Radka; Usupova, Zhamilya; Maruszczak, Katharina; Ostojic, Sergej M.; Spiroski, Igor; Stojisavljević, Dragana; Wickramasinghe, Kremlin; Breda, JoãoChildhood overweight and obesity have significant short- and long-term negative impacts on children's health and well-being. These challenges are unequally distributed according to socioeconomic status (SES); however, previous studies have often lacked standardized and objectively measured data across national contexts to assess these differences. This study provides a cross-sectional picture of the association between SES and childhood overweight and obesity, based on data from 123,487 children aged 6–9 years in 24 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European region. Overall, associations were found between overweight/obesity and the three SES indicators used (parental education, parental employment status, and family-perceived wealth). Our results showed an inverse relationship between the prevalence of childhood overweight/obesity and parental education in high-income countries, whereas the opposite relationship was observed in most of the middle-income countries. The same applied to family-perceived wealth, although parental employment status appeared to be less associated with overweight and obesity or not associated at all. This paper highlights the need for close attention to context when designing interventions, as the association between SES and childhood overweight and obesity varies by country economic development. Population-based interventions have an important role to play, but policies that target specific SES groups are also needed to address inequalities.
- Thinness, overweight, and obesity in 6‐ to 9‐year‐old children from 36 countries: The World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative - COSI 2015-2017Publication . Spinelli, Angela; Buoncristiano, Marta; Nardone, Paola; Starc, Gregor; Hejgaard, Tatjana; Júlíusson, Petur Benedikt; Fismen, Anne‐Siri; Weghuber, Daniel; Musić Milanović, Sanja; García‐Solano, Marta; Rutter, Harry; Rakovac, Ivo; Cucu, Alexandra; Brinduse, Lacramioara Aurelia; Rito, Ana Isabel; Kovacs, Viktoria Anna; Heinen, Mirjam M.; Nurk, Eha; Mäki, Päivi; Abdrakhmanova, Shynar; Rakhmatulleoeva, Sanavbar; Duleva, Vesselka; Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria; Fijałkowska, Anna; Gualtieri, Andrea; Sacchini, Elena; Hassapidou, Maria; Hyska, Jolanda; Kelleher, Cecily C.; Kujundžić, Enisa; Kunešová, Marie; Markidou Ioannidou, Eliza; Ostojic, Sergej M.; Peterkova, Valentina; Petrauskienė, Aušra; Popović, Stevo; Pudule, Iveta; Russell Jonsson, Kenisha; Dal‐Re Saavedra, Maria Ángeles; Salanave, Benoît; Shengelia, Lela; Spiroski, Igor; Tanrygulyyeva, Maya; Tichá, Ľubica; Usupova, Zhamilya; Ozcebe, Lütfiye Hilal; Abildina, Akbota; Schindler, Karin; Weber, Martin W.; Filipović Hadžiomeragić, Aida; Melkumova, Marina; Stojisavljević, Dragana; Boymatova, Khadichamo; Williams, Julianne; Breda, JoãoIn 2015-2017, the fourth round of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was conducted in 36 countries. National representative samples of children aged 6–9 (203,323) were measured by trained staff, with similar equipment and using a standardized protocol. This paper assesses the children's body weight status and compares the burden of childhood overweight, obesity, and thinness in Northern, Eastern, and Southern Europe and Central Asia. The results show great geographic variability in height, weight, and body mass index. On average, the children of Northern Europe were the tallest, those of Southern Europe the heaviest, and the children living in Central Asia the lightest and the shortest. Overall, 28.7% of boys and 26.5% of girls were overweight (including obesity) and 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively, were thin according to the WHO definitions. The prevalence of obesity varied from 1.8% of boys and 1.1% of girls in Tajikistan to 21.5% and 19.2%, respectively, in Cyprus, and tended to be higher for boys than for girls. Levels of thinness, stunting, and underweight were relatively low, except in Eastern Europe (for thinness) and in Central Asia. Despite the efforts to halt it, unhealthy weight status is still an important problem in the WHO European Region.
- WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative: Impact of Type of Clothing Worn during Anthropometric Measurements and Timing of the Survey on Weight and Body Mass Index Outcome Measures in 6–9-Year-Old ChildrenPublication . Wijnhoven, Trudy M.A.; van Raaij, Joop M.A.; Spinelli, Angela; Yngve, Agneta; Lissner, Lauren; Spiroski, Igor; Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria; Pérez-Farinós, Napoleón; Martos, Éva; Heinen, Mirjam; Kunešová, Marie; Rito, Ana I.; Hovengen, Ragnhild; Starc, Gregor; Duleva, Vesselka; Pudule, Iveta; Petrauskiene, Ausra; Braeckevelt, Lien; Hassapidou, Maria; Breda, João; van 't Veer, PieterBackground. The World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) conducted examinations in 6–9-year-old children from 16 countries in the first two rounds of data collection. Allowing participating countries to adhere to their local legal requirements or adapt to other circumstances required developing a flexible protocol for anthropometric procedures. Objectives. (1) Review intercountry variation in types of clothing worn by children during weight and height measurements, clothes weight adjustments applied, timing of the survey, and duration of data collection; (2) assess the impact of the observed variation in these practices on the children’s weight or body mass index (BMI) outcome measures. Results. The relative difference between countries’ unadjusted and clothes-adjusted prevalence estimates for overweight was 0.3–11.5%; this figure was 1.4–33.3% for BMI-for-age Z-score values. Monthly fluctuations in mean BMI-for-age Z-score values did not show a systematic seasonal effect. The majority of the monthly BMI-for-age Z-score values did not differ statistically within a country; only 1–3 monthly values were statistically different within some countries. Conclusions. The findings of the present study suggest that the built-in flexibility in the COSI protocol concerning the data collection practices addressed in the paper can be kept and thus do not necessitate a revision of the COSI protocol.