title: Prevalence of obesity among 10-11-year-old Maltese children using four established standards.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to establish, through measured height and weight, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a representative sample of Maltese children aged 10-11 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Height and weight were measured in a sample, stratified by sex, region and type of school, of 874 year 6 children and their body mass index classified as normal weight, overweight, and obese using International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), World Health Organization (WHO), US Centre for Disease Control and U.K. Department of Health standards.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IOTF standards indicated 20.4% overweight and 14.2% obese, while WHO standards indicated 23.1% overweight and 20.9% obese. All four standards reported significant sex differences, classifying more boys in the overweight and obesity categories.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of overweight and obesity among 10-11-year-old Maltese children are higher than previously estimated through self-reported height and weight and all other countries in the world except Greece. These high rates confirm the urgent need to identify causes and tackle childhood obesity in Malta.
authors.affiliation: Institute for PE and Sport, University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Decelis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jago
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008319:Malta / Q000453:epidemiology; D020380:Needs Assessment; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Obesity; overweight; sex differences