caa a22 4500 475785622 CHVBK 20180406123657.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170329e20000801xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/PL00014363 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/PL00014363 Livingstone Barbara Northern Ireland Centre for Diet and Health (NICHE), University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland BT52 1SA, UK e-mail: mbe.livingstone@ulst.ac.uk Tel.: +44-(028)7032 4471; Fax: +44-(028)7032 4965, IE aut Epidemiology of childhood obesity in Europe [Elektronische Daten] [Barbara Livingstone] At present, estimation of the prevalence and secular trends in paediatric obesity in Europe is severely hampered by methodological problems in the definition of obesity and the paucity of data sets that mirror the demographic, cultural and socioeconomic composition of the European population. The available cross-sectional data, however imperfect, suggest that there are complex patterns in prevalence which vary with time, age, sex and geographical region. Overall, the prevalence of obesity in young children is relatively low compared to adolescents. Gender differences in prevalence are inconsistent. The highest rates of obesity are observed in eastern and southern European countries and even within countries there may be marked variability in the rates of obesity. It is not clear whether the trends in paediatric obesity are a simple consequence of an overall increase in fatness in Europe or whether there may be sub-groups of children who, at certain ages, are either particularly susceptible to environmental challenges or are selectively exposed to such challenges. The respective contributions of dietary energy intake and patterns of physical activity to the aetiology of childhood obesity present a confused and confusing picture. Changing demographic and social circumstances throughout Europe are linked to childhood obesity but it is highly unlikely that these interact in similar ways in the genesis of obesity in different individuals and population groups. Conclusion At present, our limited understanding of the variability in susceptibility to obesity in European children and adolescents provides powerful justification for the development of preventive strategies which are population based rather than selectively targeted at high-risk children. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2000 Key words Children nationallicence Adolescents nationallicence Definition of obesity nationallicence Body mass index nationallicence Longitudinal studies nationallicence Cross-sectional studies nationallicence Tracking nationallicence Energy intake nationallicence Physical activity nationallicence Sociodemographic factors nationallicence https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00014363 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00014363 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Livingstone Barbara Northern Ireland Centre for Diet and Health (NICHE), University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland BT52 1SA, UK e-mail: mbe.livingstone@ulst.ac.uk Tel.: +44-(028)7032 4471; Fax: +44-(028)7032 4965, IE aut Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer