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. 2021 Nov:22 Suppl 6:e13215.
doi: 10.1111/obr.13215. Epub 2021 Nov 4.

Methodology and implementation of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI)

João Breda  1 , Karen McColl  1 , Marta Buoncristiano  1 , Julianne Williams  1 , Shynar Abdrakhmanova  2   3 , Zulfiya Abdurrahmonova  4 , Wolfgang Ahrens  5   6 , Dilorom Akhmedova  7 , Márta Bakacs  8 , Jolanda M A Boer  9 , Khadichamo Boymatova  10 , Lacramioara Aurelia Brinduse  11   12 , Alexandra Cucu  11   13 , Vesselka Duleva  14 , Ronit Endevelt  15   16 , Victoria Farrugia Sant'Angelo  17 , Anna Fijałkowska  18 , Aida Filipović Hadžiomeragić  19 , Marta García-Solano  20 , Else Karin Grøholt  21 , Andrea Gualtieri  22 , Maria Hassapidou  23 , Tatjana Hejgaard  24 , Jolanda Hyska  25 , Cecily C Kelleher  26 , Enisa Kujundžić  27 , Päivi Mäki  28 , Eliza Markidou Ioannidou  29 , Marina Melkumova  30 , Isabelle Moyersoen  31 , Sanja Musić Milanović  32   33 , Eha Nurk  34 , Sergej M Ostojic  35 , Valentina Peterkova  36 , Aušra Petrauskienė  37 , Iveta Pudule  38 , Ana Isabel Rito  39 , Kenisha Russell Jonsson  40 , Harry Rutter  41 , Benoît Salanave  42   43 , Nabil Seyidov  44 , Lela Shengelia  45 , Natalia Silitrari  46 , Angela Spinelli  47 , Igor Spiroski  48   49 , Gregor Starc  50 , Dragana Stojisavljević  51   52 , Maya Tanrygulyyeva  53 , Ľubica Tichá  54 , Zhamilya Usupova  55 , Daniel Weghuber  56 , Nazan Yardim  57 , Hana Zamrazilová  58 , Vladyslav Zbanatskyi  59 , Francesco Branca  60 , Martin Weber  61 , Ivo Rakovac  1
Affiliations

Methodology and implementation of the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI)

João Breda et al. Obes Rev. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: children; methodology; obesity; surveillance.

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References

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