Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood overweight: heterogeneity across five countries in the WHO European childhood obesity surveillance initiative (COSI-2008)
Free PMC Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4856730/BACKGROUND: Excess risk of childhood overweight and obesity occurring in socioeconomically disadvantaged families has been
demonstrated in numerous studies from high-income regions, including Europe. It is well known that socioeconomic characteristics
such as parental education, income and occupation are etiologically relevant to childhood obesity. However, in the pan-European
setting, there is reason to believe that inequalities in childhood weight status may vary among countries as a function of differing
degrees of socioeconomic development and equity.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we have examined socioeconomic differences in childhood obesity in
different parts of the European region using nationally representative data from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Portugal
and Sweden that were collected in 2008 during the first round of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood
Obesity Surveillance Initiative.
RESULTS: Heterogeneity in the association between parental socioeconomic indicators and childhood overweight or obesity was
clearly observed across the five countries studied. Positive as well as negative associations were observed between parental
socioeconomic indicators and childhood overweight, with statistically significant interactions between country and parental
indicators.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings have public health implications for the WHO European Region and underscore the necessity to
continue documenting socioeconomic inequalities in obesity in all countries through international surveillance efforts in countries
with diverse geographic, social and economic environments. This is a prerequisite for universal as well as targeted preventive
actions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio