Page 19 - Sember, Vedrana, and Shawnda A. Morrison. 2018. The Mind-Body Connection. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 19
Health Effects
cents corresponds to the cut-off points of BMI at or above 25.0 and
obesity equivalent corresponds to the cut-off points of BMI at or
above 30.0. Children’s and adolescents’ obesity around the world
is a significant health problem and showed an increased preval-
ence of pediatric and adolescent obesity in Europe (Caroli, 2003),
USA (Ogden, Flegal, Carol, & Johnson, 2002) and in other less de-
veloped countries (Ebbeling, Pawlak, & Ludwik, 2002). Since 1980
the percentage of obese children in the United States aged from 6
to 11 has doubled and the proportion of obese adolescents aged
from 12 to 19 has tripled (Centers for Disease Control, 2013). The
highest prevalence of overweight children in Europe was found
in children and adolescents from Finland, Ireland and Greece (ex-
pressed as 85th centile BMI) (Flodmark et al., 2004). In the USA pre-
valence was higher than in Europe (expressed as 95th centile BMI)
(Lissau et al., 2004). More accurate comparisons between Americ-
an and European children and adolescents cannot be made, since
the same method and the same reference values for definition of
obesity were not available (Troiano & Flegal, 1998). The two coun-
tries with the highest prevalence of overweight and obese youth
participated in Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study,
were Malta (33.3%) and United States (31.9%). Countries with the
lowest prevalence of overweight youth were Lithuania (5.5%) and
Latvia (6.4%) (Janssen et al., 2005). Children of obese parents have
a higher risk of becoming obese compared to children of non-obese
parents (Garn & Clark, 1976). Obesity in childhood and adolescence
in 30% to 60% of cases continues to obesity in adulthood (Serdula et
al., 1993). The risk of obesity is reduced when children and adoles-
cents engage in recommended levels of physical activity daily (Pate
et al., 2015).
The rise of childhood obesity became the global trend and is in-
creasingly prominent; 21.4% of children, aged from 5 to 17 years
were considered overweight or obese (OECD, 2012), which repres-
ents a double proportion of the comparison in relation to the pre-
vious decades. In 1978 and 1979 in Canada 15% of youth, aged 5
to 17 years were overweight or obese; in 2009–2011 31.5% of Ca-
nadian youth were overweight or obese (Roberts, Shields, de Groh,
17
cents corresponds to the cut-off points of BMI at or above 25.0 and
obesity equivalent corresponds to the cut-off points of BMI at or
above 30.0. Children’s and adolescents’ obesity around the world
is a significant health problem and showed an increased preval-
ence of pediatric and adolescent obesity in Europe (Caroli, 2003),
USA (Ogden, Flegal, Carol, & Johnson, 2002) and in other less de-
veloped countries (Ebbeling, Pawlak, & Ludwik, 2002). Since 1980
the percentage of obese children in the United States aged from 6
to 11 has doubled and the proportion of obese adolescents aged
from 12 to 19 has tripled (Centers for Disease Control, 2013). The
highest prevalence of overweight children in Europe was found
in children and adolescents from Finland, Ireland and Greece (ex-
pressed as 85th centile BMI) (Flodmark et al., 2004). In the USA pre-
valence was higher than in Europe (expressed as 95th centile BMI)
(Lissau et al., 2004). More accurate comparisons between Americ-
an and European children and adolescents cannot be made, since
the same method and the same reference values for definition of
obesity were not available (Troiano & Flegal, 1998). The two coun-
tries with the highest prevalence of overweight and obese youth
participated in Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study,
were Malta (33.3%) and United States (31.9%). Countries with the
lowest prevalence of overweight youth were Lithuania (5.5%) and
Latvia (6.4%) (Janssen et al., 2005). Children of obese parents have
a higher risk of becoming obese compared to children of non-obese
parents (Garn & Clark, 1976). Obesity in childhood and adolescence
in 30% to 60% of cases continues to obesity in adulthood (Serdula et
al., 1993). The risk of obesity is reduced when children and adoles-
cents engage in recommended levels of physical activity daily (Pate
et al., 2015).
The rise of childhood obesity became the global trend and is in-
creasingly prominent; 21.4% of children, aged from 5 to 17 years
were considered overweight or obese (OECD, 2012), which repres-
ents a double proportion of the comparison in relation to the pre-
vious decades. In 1978 and 1979 in Canada 15% of youth, aged 5
to 17 years were overweight or obese; in 2009–2011 31.5% of Ca-
nadian youth were overweight or obese (Roberts, Shields, de Groh,
17
