How did the register come about?The Copenhagen School Health Records Register (CSHRR) is a database of health examination information on more than 350 000 schoolchildren who ever attended school in the central municipality of the capital city of Denmark. For longer than 100 years, school-based health care has been provided to children in Copenhagen, 1 and from the 1930s, the material was systematically recorded on individual health cards. The CSHRR results from the retrieval and computerization of data from every health card. Information from the register can be used on its own and it can also be linked to a variety of health registers and other cohort studies in Denmark.In the early 1980s, an effort was made to locate the cards when researchers wanted to examine childhood exposures in a cohort of severely obese Danish draftees. [2][3][4][5] Locating these records was a large undertaking, as previously the cards had been found only for a small number of subjects. [6][7][8] Retrieving the cards was a challenge because they were stored in boxes under the attic eaves of an old tall school building. The necessary cards were retrieved and computerized for the draftee study, but recognizing their tremendous research potential, efforts were made to ensure they were properly archived. Fortunately, this realization occurred just in time-the cards were slated for destruction. The Cancer Registry, run by the Danish Cancer Society, rescued the records and they are now preserved in the Copenhagen Municipal Archives. In the 25 years following the initial study on the draftees, a systematic computerization of information on schoolchildren in Copenhagen born from 1930 to 1983 was undertaken in phases depending on available resources. The process is ongoing, and records from recent school years are added as they become available.

In contrast to the preceding decades, we identified a potential stagnation in the obesity epidemic among children but a continuing increase among adolescents. It remains critical to continue monitoring and to increase preventive measures to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

Our study shows a high prevalence of overweight adolescents in Copenhagen, especially in school areas with low socio-economic standard and in pupils with Turkish, Pakistani and Arab ethnicity. Only three out of the 10 pupils with the highest risk participated. New strategies to reach and motivate risk groups to follow health recommendations and new methods of screening should be developed.

Background: The stabilization in levels of childhood overweight has masked increasing gaps among different ethnic and socioeconomic groups in several countries. Objective: To examine if levels and trends in childhood overweight and obesity differed by ethnicity and socioeconomic areas in Copenhagen schoolchildren. Methods: From measured heights and weights of 32,951 children 5-8 and 14-16 years of age, the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) and obesity were estimated using International Obesity Task Force criteria. Differences in prevalence levels and trends across six school years by ethnicity and socioeconomic areas were examined using logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of overweight significantly decreased from 2002 to 2007 among the youngest Western girls and boys, showed no significant changes among the oldest non-Western girls and increased among the oldest non-Western boys. In all years, the youngest non-Western children had significantly higher levels of overweight than Western children. Although the prevalence of overweight tended to be higher in low socioeconomic areas as compared with high socioeconomic areas, few differences were statistically significant. Consistent trends in overweight across the years by socioeconomic area were not observed. Conclusion: Ethnic and social inequalities exist in childhood overweight among Copenhagen schoolchildren; thus appropriate interventions targeting high-risk groups are needed

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