(From the ISHN Member information service) An article in the February 2015 Issue of the International Journal of Obesity questions recent reports and reviewws that claim progress is being made in reducing childhood obesity rates. The authors report that "before concluding that the obesity epidemic is not increasing anymore, the validity of the presented data should be discussed more thoroughly. We had a closer look into the literature presented in recent reviews to address the major potential biases and distortions, and to develop insights about how to interpret the presented suggestions for a potential break in the obesity epidemic. Decreasing participation rates, the use of reported rather than measured data and small sample sizes, or lack of representativeness, did not seem to explain presented breaks in the obesity epidemic. Further, available evidence does not suggest that stabilization of obesity rates is seen in higher socioeconomic groups only, or that urbanization could explain a potential break in the obesity epidemic. However, follow-ups of short duration may, in part, explain the apparent break or decrease in the obesity epidemic. On the other hand, a single focus on body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to25 or greater than or equal to30 kg m−2 is likely to mask a real increase in the obesity epidemic. And, in both children and adults, trends in waist circumferences were generally suggesting an increase, and were stronger than those reported for trends in BMI." Read more>>
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