Prevalence of overweight and obesity in a national representative sample of Greek children and adolescents

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Greek school age children and adolescents. Design: Nationwide representative survey. Setting: Primary and secondary schools all over Greece. Subjects: In all, 6448 students (50.4% boys, 49.6% girls) 6-17 years old. Method: A nationwide multistage procedure was followed to obtain a representative sample of youths. Body mass and height were measured by trained personnel. Data were collected between October 1990 and May 1991. Results: According to the 12-month-International Obesity Task Force cutoff values, the overall prevalence of overweight was 17.3% (16.9% for boys, 17.6% for girls). The rate of obesity was 3.6% (3.8% for boys, 3.3% for girls). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was decreasing with age in girls (6-9 years: 23.2 and 6.7%, respectively, 10-17 years: 14.8 and 1.6%, respectively). In boys, the prevalence of overweight was higher in 10-17 years (19.3 and 2.7%, for the rate of overweight and obesity, respectively) than in 6-9 years (12.1 and 5.9%, respectively). Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Greek children and adolescents is comparable to that reported for most European countries.