Browsing by Author "Weber, Martin W."
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- Childhood overweight and obesity abatement policies in EuropePublication . Wickramasinghe, Kremlin; Chatterjee, Saion; Williams, Julianne; Weber, Martin W.; Rito, Ana Isabel; Rippin, Holly; Breda, JoãoOver the past two decades, a concerted effort to combat the rising tide of childhood overweight and obesity has taken shape. The World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO) provides recommendations for six priority areas of action, including the promotion of healthy food consumption, promotion of physical activity, preconception and pregnancy care, early childhood diet and physical activity, healthy nutrition and physical activity for school-aged children, and community-based weight management. This paper provides a snapshot of policies and measures aligned to these areas of action within the WHO European Region in order to encourage other countries to make similar efforts. Examples are drawn from Portugal (sugar-sweetened beverage tax, integrated nutrition strategy), the United Kingdom (soft drink levy, active commuting programs, urban design principles), Lithuania (prohibition of energy drinks), Norway (industry and government partnerships to promote healthier foods, nutrition education curriculum for schools), Hungary (tax subsidies to promote healthy diets), the European Union (cross-border marketing regulations, preconception and pregnancy care), Slovenia (food marketing restrictions), Spain (marketing restrictions within educational settings), Poland (investing in sports infrastructure), Russia (increasing sports participation), Estonia (redevelopment of the physical education curriculum), Netherlands (preconception and pregnancy care), Croatia (conditions to support breastfeeding), Austria (perinatal and early childhood nutrition), Czechia (life-course strategy), San Marino (nutrition and physical activity for school-aged children), Ukraine (potable water for schools), Ireland and Italy (community-based weight management approaches). Our findings suggest that a large disparity exists among the type and breadth of policies adopted by Member States, with a mix of single-issue policy responses and more cohesive strategies. The role of data, implementation research, and ongoing surveillance of country-level progress related to childhood overweight and obesity policies are discussed as an essential part of the iterative process of policy development. Additional work to systematically gather context-specific information on policy development, implementation, and reach according to ECHO's six areas of action by WHO European Region countries will inform future policy paradigms within the region.
- 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.
- Urban and rural differences in frequency of fruit, vegetable, and soft drink consumption among 6–9‐year‐old children from 19 countries from the WHO European regionPublication . Heinen, Mirjam M.; Bel‐Serrat, Silvia; Kelleher, Cecily C.; Buoncristiano, Marta; Spinelli, Angela; Nardone, Paola; Milanović, Sanja Musić; Rito, Ana Isabel; Bosi, A. Tülay Bağci; Gutiérrrez‐González, Enrique; Pudule, Iveta; Abdrakhmanova, Shynar; Abdurrahmonova, Zulfiya; Brinduse, Lacramioara Aurelia; Cucu, Alexandra; Duleva, Vesselka; Fijałkowska, Anna; Gualtieri, Andrea; Hejgaard, Tatjana; Hyska, Jolanda; Kujundžić, Enisa; Petrauskiene, Ausra; Sacchini, Elena; Shengelia, Lela; Tanrygulyyeva, Maya; Usupova, Zhamilya; Bergh, Ingunn Holden; Weghuber, Daniel; Taxová Braunerová, Radka; Kunešová, Marie; Sant'Angelo, Victoria Farrugia; Nurk, Eha; Ostojic, Sergej M.; Spiroski, Igor; Tichá, Ľubica; Rutter, Harry; Williams, Julianne; Boymatova, Khadichamo; Rakovac, Ivo; Weber, Martin W.; Breda, JoãoIn order to address the paucity of evidence on the association between childhood eating habits and urbanization, this cross-sectional study describes urban–rural differences in frequency of fruit, vegetable, and soft drink consumption in 123,100 children aged 6–9 years from 19 countries participating in the fourth round (2015-2017) of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI). Children's parents/caregivers completed food-frequency questionnaires. A multivariate multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed and revealed wide variability among countries and within macroregions for all indicators. The percentage of children attending rural schools ranged from 3% in Turkey to 70% in Turkmenistan. The prevalence of less healthy eating habits was high, with between 30–80% and 30–90% children not eating fruit or vegetables daily, respectively, and up to 45% consuming soft drinks on >3 days a week. For less than one third of the countries, children attending rural schools had higher odds (OR-range: 1.1–2.1) for not eating fruit or vegetables daily or consuming soft drinks >3 days a week compared to children attending urban schools. For the remainder of the countries no significant associations were observed. Both population-based interventions and policy strategies are necessary to improve access to healthy foods and increase healthy eating behaviors among children.