Epidemiological influences and requirements of global childhood obesity research

  • Introduction: Obesity is classified as a global epidemic and judged to be the greatest public health threat in Western countries. The tremendously increasing prevalence rates in children lead to morbidity and mortality in adults. In many countries, prevalence has doubled since the 1980s. Other countries show a continuous increase or stagnate at a very high level. Given these regional differences, this study aims to draw a global world map of childhood obesity research, including regional epidemiological characteristics, to comprehensively assess research influences and needs. Methods: In addition to established bibliometric parameters, this study uses epidemiological data to interpret metadata on childhood obesity research from the Web of Science in combination with state-of-the-art visualization methods, such as density equalizing map projections. Results: It was not until the 1990s that belated recognition of the dangerous effects of childhood obesity led to an increase in the number of publications worldwide. In addition, our findings show that countries’ study output does not correlate with epidemiologic rates of childhood obesity. In contrast, the primary driver of the research efforts on childhood obesity appears to be largely driven government funding structures. Discussion/Conclusion: The geographical differences in the epidemiological background of childhood obesity complicate the implementation of transnational research projects and cross-border prevention programs. Effective realization requires a sound scientific basis, which is facilitated by globally valid approaches. Hence, there is a need for information exchange between researchers, policy makers, and private initiatives worldwide.

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Author:Doris KlingelhöferORCiD, Markus BraunORCiD, David QuarcooORCiDGND, Dörthe BrüggmannORCiDGND, Jan David Alexander GronebergORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-618067
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1159/000516777
ISSN:1662-4033
Parent Title (English):Obesity facts : the European journal of obesity
Publisher:Karger
Place of publication:Basel; Freiburg; Paris; London; New York, NY; Bangalore; Bangkok; Shanghai; Singapore; Tokyo; Sydney
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2021/07/08
Date of first Publication:2021/07/08
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2021/07/26
Tag:Child adiposity; Global health; Prevalence; Public health; Publication output
Volume:2021
Page Number:15
First Page:1
Last Page:15
HeBIS-PPN:484945041
Institutes:Medizin / Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Open-Access-Publikationsfonds:Medizin
Licence (English):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell 4.0