Russian Federation joins WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI)

Professor Valentina Peterkova, Director of the Institute of Pediatric Endocrinology, part of the State Scientific Centre for Studying Endocrinology, was appointed as the Principal Investigator for COSI in the Russian Federation. This is the first step to a country participating in COSI.

Then, a training seminar on childhood obesity in Europe and on COSI implementation, to prepare a national team of experts who will participate in the study, was held on 14–17 March 2016 in Moscow, Russian Federation at the State Scientific Centre for Studying Endocrinology.

60 paediatric endocrinologists and paediatricians from Moscow and other Russian cities were trained. The training was facilitated by Dr João Rodrigues da Silva Breda, Programme Manager for Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at WHO/Europe, as well as international experts who have implemented COSI in other countries.

Around 150 schools and 3000 children aged 7-years old are expected to participate in the study, which assesses the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and tries to identify possible causes. The study is scheduled for September–October 2016.

About COSI

COSI was set up as a response to the need for harmonized surveillance systems, providing measured and comparable data on rates of overweight/obesity among primary-school children. 32 countries in the WHO European Region participate in COSI.