Abstract
Objectives. To report 5-year changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 11-year-old children in Cyprus. Methods. This was a school-based study performed in Cyprus. A total of 14 090 11-year-old children (males: 51.2%), who had been examined in the 1997–8 and 2002–3 school years, were included in the study. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-offs were used to define overweight and obese subjects, and logistic regression models were used to estimate 5-year trends. Results. The overall prevalence of overweight children was slightly higher in the second period but this change was not statistically significant. There was only a significant increase in overweight boys in rural areas; odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) for the 5-year period was 1.33 (1.10, 1.62; p=0.004). The overall relative increase in obesity was 17.9% and the OR (95% CI) was 1.22 (1.07, 1.38; p=0.003). Although the prevalence of obesity was higher in males in both periods, the relative increase was substantially higher in females, 29.6% vs. 11.4%. The relative increase was also higher in rural (35.9%) compared with urban areas (8.7%); ORs (95% CI) 1.46 (1.17, 1.81) vs. 1.10 (0.94, 1.29), respectively. Conclusions. This is the first report documenting increasing rates of obesity among school-aged children in Cyprus. Females and children living in rural areas experienced the most striking increases. The prevalence of overweight increased only in males living in rural areas.
Acknowledgements
We are greatly indebted to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus, and the Laiki Group for supporting this study. We would also like to thank the children and their parents for participation, as well as the school personnel for their cooperation.