Adolescent obesity and related behaviours: Trends and inequalities in the WHO European Region, 2002–2014

The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey is a WHO collaborative cross-national study that monitors the health behaviours, health outcomes and social environments of boys and girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years every four years. HBSC has collected international data on adolescent health, including eating behaviours, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and, more recently, overweight and obesity, for over 25 years, allowing prevalence to be compared across countries and over time. This report presents the latest trends in obesity, eating behaviours, physical activity and sedentary behaviour from the HBSC study and highlights gender and socioeconomic inequalities across the WHO European Region. Trends have previously been reported separately, but this report brings together for the first time HBSC data on obesity and obesity-related behaviours to review the latest evidence and consider the range and complexity of factors influencing childhood obesity.