A national study of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 6-12 y-oldSwiss children: body mass index, body-weight perceptions and goals

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Swiss c hildren and to obtain information on weight perceptions and weight control practices in this population. Design: Cross-sectional, three-stage, probability-proportionate-to-size clu ster sampling. Setting: Middle schools throughout Switzerland. Subjects: A representative national sample of 595 6-12 y-old schoolchildren . Intervention: Measurement of weight and height; interview on weight percept ions and weight control practices. Results: Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and used as an indicator of o verweight. The BMIs of the Swiss children were compared with US, UK, French and Swiss reference data. Depending on which reference data were used, the prevalence of obesity varied between 9.7 and 16.1% and the prevalence of o verweight varied between 21.7 and 34.2%. Girls were significantly more like ly to consider themselves too fat (26% and 15%, respectively) and to report currently trying to lose weight (30% and 18%, respectively) compared to bo ys (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight in Swiss children, and its attend ant health and social consequences, are important public health concerns. Sponsorship: The Swiss Foundation for Nutrition Research, Zurich, Switzerla nd.