Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Original article

Vol. 150 No. 3132 (2020)

Overweight and obesity in 5- to 6-year-old schoolchildren in Switzerland from 2003 to 2018

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2020.20309
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20309
Published
07.08.2020

Summary

AIMS OF THE STUDY

Overweight and obesity in children and the harmful health consequences of these conditions throughout the course of their lives is a growing, worldwide public health problem. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the evolution of the prevalence of being overweight and obese among 5- to 6-year-old schoolchildren in Geneva from 2003 to 2018, and to compare it to other areas of Switzerland.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study at nine points in time, conducted in public schools from 2003–2004 to 2017–2018. During a systematic health check at school, data on the height and body weight of 5- to 6-year-old children attending public schools in the canton of Geneva were obtained. 12,918 girls and 13,395 boys were recruited for the study. Cole’s references were used to classify the body mass index.

RESULTD

In 2017–18 the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was 14.6%, of which 10.3% were overweight (14.5% for girls and 5.9% for boys) and 4.3% were obese (4.5% for girls and 4.2% for boys). For girls, we observed a non-significant increase in the prevalence of overweight of 2.5 points (p = 0.14) between 2003–04 and 2017–18, as opposed to boys, where we observed a non-significant downward trend (−2.7 points, p = 0.06) over the same period. A relatively marked and statistically significant increase in the prevalence of obesity (1.9 points, p = 0.0130) since 2010 was observed for both sexes in this age group.

CONCLUSION

From 2003 to 2018 we observed a stabilisation in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in childhood, which is consistent with results from other Swiss cities, as well as in some other countries worldwide. The significant increase in obesity observed since 2010 will have to be monitored and justifies pursuing public health policies and potentially some more aggressive approaches.

References

  1. Wang Y, Lim H. The global childhood obesity epidemic and the association between socio-economic status and childhood obesity. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2012;24(3):176–88. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2012.688195
  2. WHO Taking action on childhood obesity report [Internet]. WHO. [cited 2019 Feb 26]. Available from: http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/obesity/taking-action-childhood-obesity-report/en/
  3. Organisation européenne de coopération économique. Health at a glance 2017: OECD indicators. Paris: OECD; 2017.
  4. Lobstein T, Jackson-Leach R, Moodie ML, Hall KD, Gortmaker SL, Swinburn BA, et al. Child and adolescent obesity: part of a bigger picture. Lancet. 2015;385(9986):2510–20. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61746-3
  5. Nishtar S, Gluckman P, Armstrong T. Ending childhood obesity: a time for action. Lancet. 2016;387(10021):825–7. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00140-9
  6. WHO Obesity [Internet]. WHO. [cited 2019 May 26]. Available from: https://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/
  7. Eagle TF, Sheetz A, Gurm R, Woodward AC, Kline-Rogers E, Leibowitz R, et al. Understanding childhood obesity in America: linkages between household income, community resources, and children’s behaviors. Am Heart J. 2012;163(5):836–43. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2012.02.025
  8. Schrempft S, van Jaarsveld CHM, Fisher A, Herle M, Smith AD, Fildes A, et al. Variation in the Heritability of Child Body Mass Index by Obesogenic Home Environment. JAMA Pediatr. 2018;172(12):1153–60. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.1508
  9. World Health Organization Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. Report of the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016.
  10. Townshend T, Lake A. Obesogenic environments: current evidence of the built and food environments. Perspect Public Health. 2017;137(1):38–44. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913916679860
  11. Hoare E, Crooks N, Hayward J, Allender S, Strugnell C. Associations between combined overweight and obesity, lifestyle behavioural risk and quality of life among Australian regional school children: baseline findings of the Goulburn Valley health behaviours monitoring study. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2019;17(1):16. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-019-1086-0
  12. Sahoo K, Sahoo B, Choudhury AK, Sofi NY, Kumar R, Bhadoria AS. Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. J Family Med Prim Care. 2015;4(2):187–92. doi:.https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.154628
  13. Comorbidities and complications of obesity in children and adolescents - UpToDate [Internet]. [cited 2019 May 25]. Available from: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/comorbidities-and-complications-of-obesity-in-children-and-adolescents/print?search=childhood%20obesityy&topicRef=5874&source=see_link
  14. Black N, Hughes R, Jones AM. The health care costs of childhood obesity in Australia: An instrumental variables approach. Econ Hum Biol. 2018;31:1–13. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.07.003
  15. Sonntag D, Ali S, Lehnert T, Konnopka A, Riedel-Heller S, König H-H. Estimating the lifetime cost of childhood obesity in Germany: Results of a Markov Model. Pediatr Obes. 2015;10(6):416–22. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.278
  16. Abarca-Gómez L, Abdeen ZA, Hamid ZA, Abu-Rmeileh NM, Acosta-Cazares B, Acuin C, et al.; NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet. 2017;390(10113):2627–42. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32129-3
  17. Pérez-Rodrigo C, Aranceta J. School-based nutrition education: lessons learned and new perspectives. Public Health Nutr. 2001;4(1A):131–9. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN2000108
  18. Jeannot E, Mahler P, Elia N, Cerruti B, Chastonnay P. Sociodemographic and Economic Determinants of Overweight and Obesity for Public-school Children in Geneva State, Switzerland: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Prev Med. 2015;6(1):39. doi:.https://doi.org/10.4103/2008-7802.156836
  19. World Health Organization. | Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry [Internet]. [Cited 2019 Mar 25]. Available from: https://www.who.int/childgrowth/publications/physical_status/en/
  20. Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ. 2000;320(7244):1240–3. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.320.7244.1240
  21. Eknoyan G. Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874)--the average man and indices of obesity. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2008;23(1):47–51. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfm517
  22. Jeannot E, Mahler P, Duperrex O, Chastonay P. Evolution of overweight and obesity among elementary school children in Geneva. Swiss Med Wkly. 2010;140:w13040. doi:.https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2010.13040
  23. Epstein LH, Paluch RA, Raynor HA. Sex differences in obese children and siblings in family-based obesity treatment. Obes Res. 2001;9(12):746–53. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2001.103
  24. Wang VH, Min J, Xue H, Du S, Xu F, Wang H, et al. What factors may contribute to sex differences in childhood obesity prevalence in China? Public Health Nutr. 2018;21(11):2056–64. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018000290
  25. Murer SB, Saarsalu S, Zimmermann MB, Aeberli I. Pediatric adiposity stabilized in Switzerland between 1999 and 2012. Eur J Nutr. 2014;53(3):865–75. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-013-0590-y
  26. Aeberli I, Henschen I, Molinari L, Zimmermann MB. Stabilization of the prevalence of childhood obesity in Switzerland. Swiss Med Wkly. 2010;140:w13046. doi:.https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2010.13046
  27. Aeberli I, Ammann RS, Knabenhans M, Molinari L, Zimmermann MB. Decrease in the prevalence of paediatric adiposity in Switzerland from 2002 to 2007. Public Health Nutr. 2010;13(6):806–11. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980009991558
  28. Zimmermann MB, Gübeli C, Püntener C, Molinari L. Overweight and obesity in 6-12 year old children in Switzerland. Swiss Med Wkly. 2004;134(35-36):523–8.
  29. Monitoring comparative des données relatives au poids des enfants et des adolescent-e-s en Suisse [Internet]. Gesundheitsfoerderung.ch. [Cited 2019 Mar 20]. Available from: https://promotionsante.ch/assets/public/documents/fr/5-grundlagen/publikationen/ernaehrungbewegung/arbeitspapiere/Document_de_travail_041_PSCH_2017-09_- _Monitoring_IMC_comparatif.pdf
  30. Olds T, Maher C, Zumin S, Péneau S, Lioret S, Castetbon K, et al. Evidence that the prevalence of childhood overweight is plateauing: data from nine countries. Int J Pediatr Obes. 2011;6(5-6):342–60. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3109/17477166.2011.605895
  31. Monitoring de l’IMC chez les enfants et les adolescent-e-s: des chiffres réjouissants [Internet]. Gesundheitsfoerderung.ch. [Cited 2019 May 26]. Available from: https://promotionsante.ch/qui-sommes-nous/medias/communiques-de-presse/article/monitoring-de-limc-chez-les-enfants-et-les-adolescent-e-s-des-chiffres-rejouissants.html
  32. Statistiques cantonales - République et canton de Genève [Internet]. [Cited 2019 Apr 7]. Available from: https://www.ge.ch/statistique/publications/welcome.asp?collec=date&mm1=01%2F01&aaaa1=2011&mm2=01%2F31&aaaa2=2011&collection=Donn%E9es+g%E9n%E9rales&serie=Bulletin+statistique&Rechercher=Rechercher
  33. Statistiques cantonales - République et canton de Genève, Bilan et état de la population du canton de Genève en 2018. [Internet]. [Cited 2019 Apr 12]. Available from:https://www.ge.ch/statistique/publications/welcome.asp?collec=date&mm1=03%2F01&aaaa1=2019&mm2=03%2F31&aaaa2=2019&collection=Informations+statistiques&serie=Toutes&Rechercher=Rechercher
  34. Guessous I, Joost S, Jeannot E, Theler J-M, Mahler P, Gaspoz J-M ; GIRAPH Group. A comparison of the spatial dependence of body mass index among adults and children in a Swiss general population. Nutr Diabetes. 2014;4(3):e111. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1038/nutd.2014.8
  35. Thibault H, Carriere C, Langevin C, Barberger-Gateau P, Maurice S. Evolution of overweight prevalence among 5-6-year-old children according to socio-economic status. Acta Paediatr. 2013;102(3):273–7. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.12093
  36. Xiao Y, Qiao Y, Pan L, Liu J, Zhang T, Li N, et al. Trends in the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Chinese Preschool Children from 2006 to 2014. PLoS One. 2015;10(8):e0134466. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134466
  37. Olaya B, Moneta MV, Pez O, Bitfoi A, Carta MG, Eke C, et al. Country-level and individual correlates of overweight and obesity among primary school children: a cross-sectional study in seven European countries. BMC Public Health. 2015;15(1):475. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1809-z
  38. Zimmermann MB, Gübeli C, Püntener C, Molinari L. Detection of overweight and obesity in a national sample of 6-12-y-old Swiss children: accuracy and validity of reference values for body mass index from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the International Obesity Task Force. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(5):838–43. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/79.5.838
  39. Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Grummer-Strawn LM, Flegal KM, Guo SS, Wei R, et al. CDC growth charts: United States. Adv Data. 2000;(314):1–27.
  40. Messing S, Rütten A, Abu-Omar K, Ungerer-Röhrich U, Goodwin L, Burlacu I, et al. How Can Physical Activity Be Promoted Among Children and Adolescents? A Systematic Review of Reviews Across Settings. Front Public Health. 2019;7:55. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00055
  41. Martin A, Saunders DH, Shenkin SD, Sproule J. Lifestyle intervention for improving school achievement in overweight or obese children and adolescents. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;(3):CD009728. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009728.pub2
  42. Shaw K, O’Rourke P, Del Mar C, Kenardy J. Psychological interventions for overweight or obesity. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005;(2):CD003818. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003818.pub2
  43. Mahmood S, Perveen T, Dino A, Ibrahim F, Mehraj J. Effectiveness of school-based intervention programs in reducing prevalence of overweight. Indian J Community Med. 2014;39(2):87–93. doi:.https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.132724

Most read articles by the same author(s)