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Prevalence of overweight and obesity and anthropometric reference centiles for Albanian children and adolescents living in four Balkan nation-states

  • Jakob Tarp ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Juel Jarani , Florian Muca , Andi Spahi and Anders Grøntved ORCID logo
Published/Copyright: October 11, 2018
Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
From the journal Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 31 Issue 11

Abstract

Background

The extent of the obesity epidemic among youth is an important public health statistic which provides an indication of the future burden of non-communicable diseases. Many developing countries, including Albania, do not have systematic and repeated monitoring systems in operation.

Methods

The Balkan Survey of Inactivity in Children study is a population-based cross-sectional survey including Albanian children living in the four Balkan nation-states of Albania, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro. In total, 19,850 children from 49 schools were approached. The LMS method was used to provide body mass index (BMI), height, weight and waist circumference reference centiles for boys and girls. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age- and sex-specific BMI cut-points were applied to evaluate adiposity levels.

Results

A sample of 18,460 participants aged 6–16 years old was available for creation of the BMI for age and sex reference centiles. The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in the full sample was 21% (95% CI: 20%–21%) according to IOTF cut-off points and 28% (95% CI: 28%–29%) at WHO cut-off points. Overweight/obesity levels where higher in boys than in girls irrespective of the cut-off points applied (p<0.001). Noticeable between-country differences were observed with a prevalence of overweight/obesity of 40% (95% CI: 38%–42%) in Montenegro but only 20% (95% CI: 19%–21%) in Kosovo (WHO cut-off points).

Conclusions

Overweight/obesity is highly prevalent in Albanian children and adolescents. The apparent sex and country differences may inform public health actions.

Keywords: anthropometry; LMS; public health monitoring; reference centiles; survey
Corresponding author: Jakob Tarp, PhD, Research Unit for Exercise Epidemiology, Centre of Research in Childhood Health, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense 5230, Denmark, Phone: +47 23 26 23 22

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: The “Scientific Research Financing” of the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sports, and Sports University of Tirana, Albania provided funding for the study.

  3. Honorarium: None declared.

  4. Competing interests: The funding organizations played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

  5. Data sharing: The authors are willing to share data and code upon contact to the first author. Written agreements may be required dependent on intended application of the material.

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Supplementary Material

The online version of this article offers supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2018-0253).

Received: 2018-06-05
Accepted: 2018-09-06
Published Online: 2018-10-11
Published in Print: 2018-11-27

©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  2. Original Articles
  3. Carotid intima media thickness and associations with serum osteoprotegerin and s-RANKL in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus with increased risk for endothelial dysfunction
  4. Cardiometabolic risk factors in preschool children with abdominal obesity from Medellín, Colombia
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  7. High urate concentration is associated with elevated blood pressure in schoolchildren
  8. The association of hs-CRP and fibrinogen with anthropometric and lipid parameters in non-obese adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome
  9. Leptin and adiposity as mediators on the association between early puberty and several biomarkers in European adolescents: the HELENA Study
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  14. The prevalence and volumetry of pituitary cysts in children with growth hormone deficiency and idiopathic short stature
  15. SHOX gene deletion screening by FISH in children with short stature and Madelung deformity and their characteristics
  16. FGFR3-related hypochondroplasia: longitudinal growth in 57 children with the p.Asn540Lys mutation
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https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2018-0253
Keywords for this article
anthropometry; LMS; public health monitoring; reference centiles; survey

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Original Articles
  3. Carotid intima media thickness and associations with serum osteoprotegerin and s-RANKL in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus with increased risk for endothelial dysfunction
  4. Cardiometabolic risk factors in preschool children with abdominal obesity from Medellín, Colombia
  5. Long-term follow-up of gonadal dysfunction in morbidly obese adolescent boys after bariatric surgery
  6. Prevalence of overweight and obesity and anthropometric reference centiles for Albanian children and adolescents living in four Balkan nation-states
  7. High urate concentration is associated with elevated blood pressure in schoolchildren
  8. The association of hs-CRP and fibrinogen with anthropometric and lipid parameters in non-obese adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome
  9. Leptin and adiposity as mediators on the association between early puberty and several biomarkers in European adolescents: the HELENA Study
  10. Adolescents with premenstrual syndrome: not only what you eat but also how you eat matters!
  11. Thyroid dysfunction in children with leukemia over the first year after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
  12. Morning vs. bedtime levothyroxine administration: what is the ideal choice for children?
  13. Basal characteristics and first year responses to human growth hormone (GH) vary according to diagnostic criteria in children with non-acquired GH deficiency (naGHD): observations from a single center over a period of five decades
  14. The prevalence and volumetry of pituitary cysts in children with growth hormone deficiency and idiopathic short stature
  15. SHOX gene deletion screening by FISH in children with short stature and Madelung deformity and their characteristics
  16. FGFR3-related hypochondroplasia: longitudinal growth in 57 children with the p.Asn540Lys mutation
  17. Case Reports
  18. A variable course of Cushing’s disease in a 7 year old: diagnostic dilemma
  19. Severe hyperchylomicronemia in two infants with novel APOC2 gene mutation
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