title: Peer effects on obesity in a sample of European children.
abstract: This study analyzes peer effects on childhood obesity using data from the first two waves of the IDEFICS study, which applies several anthropometric and other measures of fatness to approximately 14,000 children aged two to nine participating in both waves in 16 regions of eight European countries. Peers are defined as same-sex children in the same school and age group. The results show that peer effects do exist in this European sample but that they differ among both regions and different fatness measures. Peer effects are larger in Spain, Italy, and Cyprus--the more collectivist regions in our sample--while waist circumference generally gives rise to larger peer effects than BMI. We also provide evidence that parental misperceptions of their own children's weight goes hand in hand with fatter peer groups, supporting the notion that in making such assessments, parents compare their children's weight with that of friends and schoolmates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Electronic address: wg.ikl@cbs.dk.
authors.forename: Wencke
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gwozdz
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Care & Public Management, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 48, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany. Electronic address: alfonso.sousa-poza@uni-hohenheim.de.
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sousa-Poza
authors.affiliation: Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. Electronic address: lr.ikl@cbs.dk.
authors.forename: Lucia A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Reisch
authors.affiliation: Bremen Institute for Prevention Research and Social Medicine & Human and Health Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Electronic address: bammann@uni-bremen.de.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bammann
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Public Health Epidemiology Unit, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Electronic address: gabriele.eiben@medfak.gu.se.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eiben
authors.affiliation: Research and Education Institute of Child Health, Strovolos, Cyprus. Electronic address: kourides@cytanet.com.cy.
authors.forename: Yiannis
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kourides
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Medical, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary. Electronic address: e.k.kovacs@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Éva
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science & Technology, National Research Council, Italy. Electronic address: fabio.lauria@isa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Social Sciences and Education, University of Tartu, Estonia. Electronic address: kenn.konstabel@tai.ee.
authors.forename: Kenn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konstabel
authors.affiliation: Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development Research Group, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: albasant@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Alba M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Santaliestra-Pasias
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Medicine and Health Sciences, University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Krishna.Vyncke@UGent.be.
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vyncke
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology-BIPS, Bremen, Germany; Institute of Statistics, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Electronic address: pigeot@bips.uni-bremen.de.
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pigeot
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Children; Europe; Obesity; Peer effects