Prevalence of Obesity Among Elementary School Children in Cyprus: The National COSI Program

Abstract

Background/Objectives: A worldwide epidemic of overweight and obesity is an ongoing global health concern. This rise in overweight and obesity among children contributes to the increasing pattern of current and future physiological and psychological problems. Our study aimed at examining overweight and obesity among elementary school children in Cyprus. Methods: Data on children's age, sex, place of residence (urban/rural) and weight/height status were collected using the WHO Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) in Cyprus, using standardized measurements of children aged 6-9 years enrolled in the first and fourth class of elementary schools during the academic year 2021-2022. We describe the prevalence and distribution of overweight and obesity, while we also compare the findings with previous rounds of the COSI program. Results: A total of 1662 children were evaluated (830 boys and 832 girls, 952 from the first and 710 from the fourth class, and 1303 from urban and 369 from rural areas). The study showed 335 children with overweight (20.1%) and 275 with obesity (16.5%). Both overweight [158 (22.2%, 95% CI: 19.2-25.5%)] and obesity [149 (21.0%, 95% CI: 18.1-24.2%)] was significantly higher in children aged 8-9 years of age compared to younger children (6-7 years) (p < 0.0001) and was also higher in boys compared to girls (p = 0.0007). No difference was seen by place of residence or round of examination. Conclusions: Our study confirmed that both overweight and obesity remain at high levels over the past decade in both boys and girls in Cyprus.

Keywords: Cyprus; children; epidemiology; obesity.

Figure 1

Flow chart showing the selection of the study sample with final statistical analysis for data of COSI from round 6.

Figure 2

Prevalence of overweight (left) and obesity (right) in boys and girls aged 6–9 years in Cyprus, according to COSI rounds 4th, 5th and 6th. The error bars indicate the 95% confidence intervals for all proportions and are estimated by binomial exact calculations.

Figure 3

Prevalence of overweight (left) and obesity (right) in children aged 6–9 years in Cyprus, according to COSI rounds 4th, 5th and 6th. The error bars indicate the 95% confidence intervals for all proportions and are estimated by binomial exact calculations.

Figure 4

Prevalence (%) of overweight (left) and obesity (right) in students aged 6–9 years of age with residence in urban and rural areas in Cyprus, according to COSI rounds 4th, 5th and 6th. Please note that the percentages of overweight and obese living in rural areas for COSI round 4 were calculated on the available data of only 18 and 13 students, respectively. Rural areas in Cyprus include also semi-urban areas. The error bars indicate the 95% confidence intervals for all proportions and are estimated by binomial exact calculations.