Population-Based Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in German Youth: Findings from MoMo 2.0 and Comparison with KiGGS

@misc{lazarides2026populationbased,
  title = {{Population-Based Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in German Youth: Findings from MoMo 2.0 and Comparison with KiGGS}},
  author = {C. Lazarides and R. Kuhnert and A. Schienkiewitz and L. Tschuschke and L. Klos and J. Fiedler and L. Wolbring and A. Hanssen-Doose and C. Volk and C. Niessner and J. Loss and M. C. Voelkle and A. Woll},
  howpublished = {medRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.10.01.26364513},
  url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364513v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Population-Based Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in German Youth: Findings from MoMo 2.0 and Comparison with KiGGS
AU  - C. Lazarides
AU  - R. Kuhnert
AU  - A. Schienkiewitz
AU  - L. Tschuschke
AU  - L. Klos
AU  - J. Fiedler
AU  - L. Wolbring
AU  - A. Hanssen-Doose
AU  - C. Volk
AU  - C. Niessner
AU  - J. Loss
AU  - M. C. Voelkle
AU  - A. Woll
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
PB  - medRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.10.01.26364513
UR  - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364513v1
AB  - ObjectiveOverweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence are major risk factors for health problems across the lifespan. This manuscript reports the current prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 4-17{square}years living in Germany and compares them with previous population-based results.  MethodsA representative, cross-sectional sample of 4-17-year-olds was drawn following a multistage sampling process. Analyses are based on weight and height of 3,978 individuals measured in the field by trained test instructors between 2023-2025. Overweight and obesity classification was defined using age- and sex-specific body-mass-index percentiles. To allow for comparability of prevalence estimates derived from previous assessment waves and other panel studies dating back to 2005, an alignment factor was derived using an inverse probability of participation weighting approach. Together with sampling weights, the alignment factor was applied to obtain current, representative prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity.  ResultsThe aligned, weighted prevalence of overweight and obesity was 16.1% (95%{square}CI{square}[14.5-17.9%]), whereas prevalence of obesity was 6.7% (95%{square}CI [5.5-8.1%]). Age- and sex-specific prevalence rates are reported and compared to previous waves.  ConclusionsThe current prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 4-17 years living in Germany remains stable over the past two decades.  Study Importance QuestionsWhat is already known about this subject?  O_LIYouth overweight and obesity are a major public-health problem with lasting health consequences C_LIO_LIThe last national German estimates (KiGGS, 2014-2017) are nearly a decade old, and newer studies are not directly comparable. C_LI  What are the new findings in your manuscript?  O_LIIn 2023-2025, 16.1% of German 4- to 17-year-olds were overweight and 6.7% had obesity, compared to KiGGS stabilizing over the last 20 years C_LIO_LIModern alignment methods allow valid prevalence estimation across study designs and sample procedures, in the absence of new health surveillance data C_LI  How might your results change the direction of research or the focus of clinical practice?  O_LIThe plateau is no reason for complacency: effective structural prevention policies still need to be implemented and evaluated, continued health monitoring is necessary C_LIO_LIFuture research should examine socioeconomic subgroups and use aligned surveillance to track whether the plateau persists. C_LI
ER  -