Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Published on: June 20, 2020

Substantial variation across geographic regions in the obesity prevalence among 6-8 years old Hungarian children

Gergő Erdei^1,2,3, Márta Bakacs⁴, Éva Illés⁴

¹School of PhD Studies, Doctoral School of Pathological Sciences, Health Science Research, Semmelweis University, 26 Üllői Street, Budapest, 1085, Hungary. erdeigergo8@gmail.com.

BMC Public Health

|May 11, 2018

Abstract

Background:

There have been previous representative nutritional status surveys conducted in Hungary, but this is the first one that examines overweight and obesity prevalence according to the level of urbanization and in different geographic regions among 6-8-year-old children. We also assessed whether these variations were different by sex.

Methods:

This survey was part of the fourth data collection round of World Health Organization (WHO) Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative which took place during the academic year 2016/2017. The representative sample was determined by two-stage cluster sampling. A total of 5332 children (48.4% boys; age 7.54 ± 0.64 years) were measured from all seven geographic regions including urban (at least 500 inhabitants per square kilometer; n = 1598), semi-urban (100 to 500 inhabitants per square kilometer; n = 1932) and rural (less than 100 inhabitants per square kilometer; n = 1802) areas.

Results:

Using the WHO reference, prevalence of overweight and obesity within the whole sample were 14.2, and 12.7%, respectively. According to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) reference, rates were 12.6 and 8.6%. Northern Hungary and Southern Transdanubia were the regions with the highest obesity prevalence of 11.0 and 12.0%, while Central Hungary was the one with the lowest obesity rate (6.1%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity tended to be higher in rural areas (13.0 and 9.8%) than in urban areas (11.9 and 7.0%). Concerning differences in sex, girls had higher obesity risk in rural areas (OR = 2.0) but boys did not. Odds ratios were 2.0-3.4 in different regions for obesity compared to Central Hungary, but only among boys.

Conclusions:

Overweight and obesity are emerging problems in Hungary. Remarkable differences were observed in the prevalence of obesity by geographic regions. These variations can only be partly explained by geographic characteristics.

Trial Registration:

Study protocol was approved by the Scientific and Research Ethics Committee of the Medical Research Council ( 61158-2/2016/EKU ).

Keywords:

COSI Children Geographic regions Hungary Obesity Overweight Prevalence Urbanization

More Related Videos

Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis

Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis

Published on: September 7, 2022

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Prevalence and Incidence

Prevalence and Incidence

In statistical epidemiology and health sciences, two essential metrics—prevalence and incidence—are fundamental for understanding disease dynamics within a population. These measures enable public health officials, epidemiologists, and researchers to assess the burden of diseases, allocate resources effectively, and design impactful public health policies and interventions.
Prevalence indicates the proportion of individuals in a population who have a specific disease or health...

What is Variation?

What is Variation?

Apart from the measures of central tendency, distribution, outliers, and the changing characteristics of data with time, an important characteristic of any data set is its variation or spread. In some data sets, the data values are concentrated closely near the mean; in others, the data values are more widely spread out from the mean.
The range, standard deviation, standard error, and variance are the different measures of variation.
Range: The range is the difference between its maximum and...

Obesity

Obesity

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a numerical value derived from a person's weight and height, used to categorize individuals into weight ranges. It is calculated using the formula: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Obesity is a health condition characterized by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue that poses health risks, often diagnosed with a BMI ≥ 30. This excess fat storage occurs when surplus dietary calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in...

Selected Data About Geographic Locations

Selected Data About Geographic Locations

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) rely on two core types of data: spatial data and attribute data.Spatial DataSpatial data defines the physical location of features within a coordinate system, typically expressed in terms of latitude and longitude. It provides precise positioning for elements like roads, rivers, or buildings.Attribute DataAttribute data complements spatial data by adding descriptive information about these features. For example, a road's spatial data includes its start and...

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...

Variation

Variation

An important characteristic of any set of data is the variation in the data. In some data sets, the data values are concentrated closely near the mean; in other data sets, the data values are more widely spread out from the mean. The most common measure of variation, or spread, is the standard deviation, which is the square root of variance.
When independent and dependent variables are plotted on a scatter plot, the slope of a line is a value that describes the rate of change between the two...

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Disparities in practice: implementation of health promotion policies in 2883 Hungarian schools with a focus on small-sized institutions.

European journal of public health·2026

Collaboration between dentists and general practitioners in primary care clusters in Hungary.

Frontiers in medicine·2026

Patients' Perspective of Medication Safety in a Structurally Burdened Healthcare System: A Netnography-Based Qualitative Analysis.

Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)·2026

Blended Learning to Enhance Competencies Among Practicing Pharmacists: A Pre-Post Evaluation of the European Health Professionals' and the DigitAl Team SkillS Advancement Project in Romania.

Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)·2026

Age- and cognitive load-related variability and entropy of gait: integrating coefficient of variation, median absolute deviation, and permutation entropy of spatiotemporal parameters into the Semmelweis Study gait assessment framework.

GeroScience·2026

Disproportionate Cardiovascular Risk in Women with Type 2 Diabetes: A Narrative Review of Diet, Metabolic Phenotypes, and Gene-Diet-Epigenetic Interactions Across the Life Course.

Nutrients·2026

See all related articles