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.