Childhood obesity epidemic. Local governments received a "hint" on how to prevent it?

• The President of AOTMiT issued a recommendation forwarded to local government units
• This is a comprehensive and substantively justified solution that responds to the urgent need to counteract the growing problem of overweight and obesity among children.
• The President of the Agency recommends carrying out specific activities within the framework of health prevention programmes
• This includes anthropometric screening tests in the population of school-age children.

The recommendation of the President of AOTMiT on recommended medical technologies, activities carried out within the framework of health policy programmes and conditions for the implementation of these programmes concerning the prevention of overweight and obesity among school-age children has been published on the AOTMiT website.

The Agency provides local government units with a comprehensive, substantively justified solution that responds to the urgent need to counteract the growing problem of overweight and obesity among children .

The mentioned document is based on current clinical guidelines and proven scientific evidence and can be implemented as a ready-made template.

It is worth emphasizing that the preparation of a health policy program in accordance with the content of the recommendation exempts one from the obligation to obtain the opinion of the President of the Agency – it is enough to submit an appropriate declaration.

From June 12, in order to prepare a PPZ for the prevention of overweight and obesity among school-age children, the provisions of the aforementioned recommendation should be taken into account and then a declaration of compliance of the draft PPZ with this recommendation should be sent to the Agency - explains AOTMiT.

However, programmes implemented before the date of publication of the recommendation do not require changes, but their subsequent editions must be consistent with the new document.

The President of the Agency recommends carrying out the following within the PPZ:

• anthropometric screening in the population of school-age children,
• multicomponent intervention in a population of participants whose BMI is at least in the 90th percentile for gender and age,
• informational and educational activities related to the prevention of overweight and obesity in the population of school-age children and their parents or legal guardians.

The agency reminds that overweight and obesity among children is a growing problem and affects not only the physical health, but also the mental and social condition of young people. It can also lead to emotional disorders, low self-esteem, and in extreme cases - depression and addiction.

In 2022 – according to data from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC, an organization collaborating with WHO) – 15.87% of Polish school children aged 5–19 were overweight, and 7.11% were obese.

Over the years 2010–2025 AOTMiT (up to the date of issuing the recommendation) the Agency received 130 PPZ projects in the field of overweight and obesity prevention. A total of 118 opinions were issued for them, including:

• 90 positive or conditionally positive opinions,
• 28 negative opinions,
• 1 project is currently under evaluation,
• 11 projects were completed without issuing an opinion (the PPZ project was a continuation of the PPZ already implemented or for other formal reasons).

The President of the Agency recommends carrying out the following within the PPZ:

• anthropometric screening in the population of school-age children,
• multicomponent intervention in a population of participants whose BMI is at least in the 90th percentile for gender and age,
• informational and educational activities related to the prevention of overweight and obesity in the population of school-age children and their parents or legal guardians.

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