Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI): Kyrgyzstan: fourth round of data collection (2017/2018)
Overview
Nutritional surveillance data are essential to effectively designing, implementing and evaluating policies and strategies aimed at counteracting childhood obesity, which remains an important public health problem in the WHO European Region.
The WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) – a systematic process of collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of descriptive information for use in monitoring excess bodyweight and in programme planning and evaluation – was established in 2007. Kyrgyzstan joined the WHO European COSI study in 2017/2018 (fourth round).
COSI Kyrgyzstan was implemented in seven regions and two cities. Data collection followed the WHO European COSI study common protocol and data-collection procedures. A total of 8033 children (7–8-years-old) from 150 primary schools were measured. The COSI study allows better understanding of the progression of childhood overweight and obesity in each country and provides information on related factors, such as eating habits and patterns of physical activity.
COSI Kyrgyzstan should be repeated every three years to monitor trends over time, which is of particular importance given that obesity (2.6%) coexists alongside thinness (3.1%), and to address the challenge of noncommunicable diseases in the country.
