In Europe, 25 percent of children aged 7 to 9 suffer from excess weight. This is stated in a World Health Organization (WHO) report which covers monitoring — from 2022 to 2024 — of childhood obesity in the continent.

Among children aged 7 to 9, 25 percent were overweight (including obesity), while 11 percent suffered from obesity, the report emphasizes.

The prevalence of excess weight varies by country — from 9 percent to 42 percent, and obesity — from 3 percent to 20 percent.

On average, boys are more likely to be obese (13%) than girls (9%).

WHO experts drew attention to the fact that within the study, 66 percent of parents of overweight children believe their children have normal or low weight. In all countries for which data are available, more than half of parents of overweight children underestimate their children’s weight, the report notes.

The aforesaid study collected data on body weight and height from approximately 470,000 children aged 6 to 9 in 37 countries in Europe.

WHO began monitoring childhood obesity in Europe in 2007, and this is its sixth report under the respective initiative.