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Mobilizing governments and society to combat obesity : Reflections on how data from the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative are helping to drive policy progress
Breda, João Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria Duleva, Vesselka Galeone, Daniela Heinen, Mirjam M. Kelleher, Cecily C. Menzano, Maria Teresa Musić Milanović, Sanja Mitchell, Lachlan Pudule, Iveta
Breda, João
Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria
Duleva, Vesselka
Galeone, Daniela
Heinen, Mirjam M.
Kelleher, Cecily C.
Menzano, Maria Teresa
Musić Milanović, Sanja
Mitchell, Lachlan
Pudule, Iveta
Author
Breda, João
Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria
Duleva, Vesselka
Galeone, Daniela
Heinen, Mirjam M.
Kelleher, Cecily C.
Menzano, Maria Teresa
Musić Milanović, Sanja
Mitchell, Lachlan
Pudule, Iveta
Rito, Ana Isabel
Shengelia, Lela
Spinelli, Angela
Spiroski, Igor
Yardim, Nazan
Buoncristiano, Marta
Williams, Julianne
Rakovac, Ivo
McColl, Karen
Farrugia Sant'Angelo, Victoria
Duleva, Vesselka
Galeone, Daniela
Heinen, Mirjam M.
Kelleher, Cecily C.
Menzano, Maria Teresa
Musić Milanović, Sanja
Mitchell, Lachlan
Pudule, Iveta
Rito, Ana Isabel
Shengelia, Lela
Spinelli, Angela
Spiroski, Igor
Yardim, Nazan
Buoncristiano, Marta
Williams, Julianne
Rakovac, Ivo
McColl, Karen
Abstract
To meet the need for regular and reliable data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) was established in 2007. The resulting robust surveillance system has improved understanding of the public health challenge of childhood overweight and obesity in the WHO European Region. For the past decade, data from COSI have helped to inform and drive policy action on nutrition and physical activity in the region. This paper describes illustrative examples of how COSI data have fed into national and international policy, but the real scope of COSI's impact is likely to be much broader. In some countries, there are signs that policy responses to COSI data have helped halt the rise in childhood obesity. As the countries of the WHO European Region commit to pursuing United Action for Better Health in Europe in WHO's new European Programme of Work, COSI provides an excellent example of such united action in practice. Further collaborative action will be key to tackling this major public health challenge which affects children throughout the region.
Keywords
children, obesity, policy, schools
Date
2021
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
22
Issue
6
Page Range
1-11
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
© 2021 World Obesity Federation. The World Health Organization retains copyright and all other rights in the manuscript of this article as submitted for publication.