Article Text
Abstract
Introduction Increasing prevalence of both thinness and excess weight during childhood and adolescence is a significant public health issue because of short-term health consequences and long-term tracking of weight status. Monitoring weight status in Europe may serve to identify countries and regions where rates of these disorders are either slowing down or increasing to evaluate recent policies aimed at appropriate body weight, and to direct future interventions. This study protocol provides a standardised and transparent methodology to improve estimating trends of thinness, overweight and obesity in children aged 3–18 years and adolescents across the European region between 2000 and 2017.
Methods and analysis This protocol is guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) and the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook. To identify relevant studies, a search will be conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Web of Science databases. From the selected studies, relevant references will be screened as supplemental sources. Finally, open search in websites from health institutions will be conducted to identify weight status data not published in scientific journals. Cross-sectional, follow-up studies and panel surveys reporting weight status (objectively measured height and weight) according to the International Obesity Task Force criteria, and written in English or Spanish will be included. Subgroup analyses will be carried out by gender, age, study year and country or European region.
Discussion This study will provide a comprehensive description of weight status of children and adolescents across Europe from 2000 to 2017. The results will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal. This study will use data exclusively from published research or institutional literature, so institutional ethical approval is not required.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42017056917.
- obesity
- underweight
- weight status
- trends
- europe
- schoolchildren
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Footnotes
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Contributors VM-V and MG-M designed the study. VM-V was the principal investigator and guarantor. VM-V and MG-M were the main coordinators of the study. CA-B, IC-R, FR-A, LMA, JRR and VM-V conducted the study. MG-M, IC-R and CA-B gave statistical and epidemiological support. MG-M wrote the article with the support of CA-B and VM-V. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Funding MG-M and CA-B are supported by grants from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, (FPU15/03847 and FPU13/03137, respectively). IC-R is supported by a grant from the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (FPI13/01582).
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.