Establishment of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) has resulted in a surveillance system which provides regular, reliable, timely, and accurate data on children's weight status-through standardized measurement of bodyweight and height-in the WHO European Region. Additional data on dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behavior, family background, and school environments are collected in several countries. In total, 45 countries in the European Region have participated in COSI. The first five data collection rounds, between 2007 and 2021, yielded measured anthropometric data on over 1.3 million children. In COSI, data are collected according to a common protocol, using standardized instruments and procedures. The systematic collection and analysis of these data enables intercountry comparisons and reveals differences in the prevalence of childhood thinness, overweight, normal weight, and obesity between and within populations. Furthermore, it facilitates investigation of the relationship between overweight, obesity, and potential risk or protective factors and improves the understanding of the development of overweight and obesity in European primary-school children in order to support appropriate and effective policy responses.

Background Malnutrition linked to noncommunicable diseases presents major health problems across Europe. The World Health Organisation encourages countries to conduct national dietary surveys to obtain data to inform public health policies designed to prevent noncommunicable diseases. Methods Data on 27334 participants aged 19-64y were harmonised and pooled across national dietary survey datasets from 12 countries across the WHO European Region. Weighted mean nutrient intakes were age-standardised using the Eurostat 2013 European Standard Population. Associations between country-level Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and key nutrients and nutrient densities were investigated using linear regression. The potential mitigating influence of participant-level educational status was explored.

SummaryBackgroundSocioeconomic differences in children's food habits are a key public health concern. In order to inform policy makers, cross‐country surveillance studies of dietary patterns across socioeconomic groups are required. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and children's food habits.MethodsThe study was based on nationally representative data from children aged 6–9 years (n = 129,164) in 23 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. Multivariate multilevel analyses were used to explore associations between children's food habits (consumption of fruit, vegetables, and sugar‐containing soft drinks) and parental education, perceived family wealth and parental employment status.ResultsOverall, the present study suggests that unhealthy food habits are associated with lower SES, particularly as assessed by parental education and family perceived wealth, but not parental employment status. We found cross‐national and regional variation in associations between SES and food habits and differences in the extent to which the respective indicators of SES were related to children's diet.ConclusionSocioeconomic differences in children's food habits exist in the majority of European and Asian countries examined in this study. The results are of relevance when addressing strategies, policy actions, and interventions targeting social inequalities in children's diets.

Unfavorable change compared to the previous survey in 2009 was the increase of fat and saturated fatty acid energy percent in women, the decrease in fruit and vegetable consumption, which explains the decreased fiber intake. An increasing trend in added sugar energy percent in each age groups of both genders was observed compared to 2009. Interventions focusing on the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption and decreasing of saturated fat and added sugar intake are needed. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(15), 587-597.

BackgroundThere have been previous representative nutritional status surveys conducted in Hungary, but this is the first one that examines overweight and obesity prevalence according to the level of urbanization and in different geographic regions among 6–8-year-old children. We also assessed whether these variations were different by sex.MethodsThis survey was part of the fourth data collection round of World Health Organization (WHO) Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative which took place during the academic year 2016/2017. The representative sample was determined by two-stage cluster sampling. A total of 5332 children (48.4% boys; age 7.54 ± 0.64 years) were measured from all seven geographic regions including urban (at least 500 inhabitants per square kilometer; n = 1598), semi-urban (100 to 500 inhabitants per square kilometer; n = 1932) and rural (less than 100 inhabitants per square kilometer; n = 1802) areas.ResultsUsing the WHO reference, prevalence of overweight and obesity within the whole sample were 14.2, and 12.7%, respectively. According to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) reference, rates were 12.6 and 8.6%. Northern Hungary and Southern Transdanubia were the regions with the highest obesity prevalence of 11.0 and 12.0%, while Central Hungary was the one with the lowest obesity rate (6.1%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity tended to be higher in rural areas (13.0 and 9.8%) than in urban areas (11.9 and 7.0%). Concerning differences in sex, girls had higher obesity risk in rural areas (OR = 2.0) but boys did not. Odds ratios were 2.0–3.4 in different regions for obesity compared to Central Hungary, but only among boys.ConclusionsOverweight and obesity are emerging problems in Hungary. Remarkable differences were observed in the prevalence of obesity by geographic regions. These variations can only be partly explained by geographic characteristics.Trial registrationStudy protocol was approved by the Scientific and Research Ethics Committee of the Medical Research Council (61158–2/2016/EKU).

Aims: To describe the prevalence of thinness, overweight, and obesity in Hungarian children (age 7.0-7.9 years) according to different classifications, to assess the progress between 2010 and 2016, and to investigate whether tendencies differ according to gender. Methods: A national representative sample was generated by two-stage cluster sampling, and a total of 2,651 children (50.9% boys; age 7.49 ± 0.3 years) were measured (weight and height) in October 2016. Population estimates were calculated using the WHO, IOTF, and national cut-offs. Results: Prevalence of thinness (including grade 1 and 2) was 12.6% based on the IOTF criteria and 15.6% based on the WHO definition. 22.5% of children were identified as overweight or obese according to the IOTF classification, compared with 28.4% according to the WHO definition. Between 2010 and 2016, each classification indicated possible stability in overweight and obesity prevalence. In contrast, the prevalence of thinness grade 2 almost doubled in 6 years according to all definitions (p < 0.05). No significant gender difference was observed in the progress. Conclusion: Overweight and obesity appeared to be stable over 6 years, but we detected growing thinness rates. Routine collection of high-quality data that are based on standardized and comparable methods is essential to monitor the childhood obesity problem.

1Országos Gyógyszerészeti és Élelmezés-egészségügyi Intézet, Élelmezés-és Táplálkozástudományi Főigazgatóság, Budapest 2 Magyar Sportorvos Társaság, BudapestBevezetés és célkitűzés: Az Országos Táplálkozás és Tápláltsági Állapot Vizsgálat 2014 -az Európai Lakossági Egész-ségfelméréshez kapcsolódva -a felnőtt magyar lakosság táplálkozási szokásait vizsgálta. E közlemény célja a makroelem-beviteli adatok bemutatása. Módszer: A felmérés a Magyarországon 2013. december 31-ig 18. életévét betöltött, nem intézményben élő lakosság makroelem-bevitelét reprezentálja. Eredmények: A magyar lakosság sóbevitele a 2009-es vizsgálathoz képest csökkent, azonban még mindig magas (férfi-ak: 15,9 g, nők 11,2 g). A káliumbevitel elmarad az ajánlástól, amely a magas nátriumbevitellel együttesen tovább növeli a magas vérnyomás kialakulásának kockázatát. A kalciumbevitel csak a 18-34 év közötti férfiak esetében éri el az ajánlott értéket, a legidősebb korcsoportok messze elmaradnak az ajánlásoktól. A magnéziumbevitel megfelel az aján-lásoknak, azonban a foszforbevitel, az előző vizsgálathoz hasonlóan, továbbra is csaknem kétszerese az ajánlásoknak. Következtetés: A makroelemek közül a legnagyobb népegészségügyi kockázat a minden korcsoportban megjelenő magas nátrium-(só-) bevitel. A lakosság nátriumbevitelében 2009 óta bekövetkező csökkenés azonban igazolhatja a prevenciós programok, az élelmiszeriparral történő együttműködés és következményes reformuláció, valamint a lakosság felvilágosításának hatásosságát, így ezen intézkedések további fenntartása elengedhetetlen. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(17): 653-661.

In conclusion, the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity is high in Hungarian adults. In order to tackle obesity, we need to obtain representative and measured data, which form the basis of targeted interventions and the assessment of their impact. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(14), 533-540.