PMID- 15804659
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20050616
LR  - 20211203
IS  - 1355-7858 (Print)
IS  - 1355-7858 (Linking)
VI  - 10
IP  - 2
DP  - 2005 May
TI  - Ethnicity, socio-economic status, overweight and underweight in East London 
      adolescents.
PG  - 113-28
AB  - BACKGROUND: The developed world is experiencing an 'epidemic' of childhood 
      obesity but little is known about the prevalence of obesity, or underweight, 
      amongst adolescents from minority ethnic groups in the UK. An understanding of 
      the prevalence of obesity and overweight in these populations is important since 
      some ethnic groups may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse health effects 
      associated with obesity. STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine levels of extreme obesity, 
      obesity, overweight and underweight amongst a representative sample of 
      adolescents from different ethnic groups in East London and to explore the 
      association between socio-economic status and body mass index (BMI). DESIGN: A 
      school-based survey of adolescents aged 11-14. Obesity and overweight were 
      estimated using the 1990 UK growth reference (UK 90) and the International 
      Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points. Extreme obesity was defined as a BMI 
      more than three SD above the UK 90 mean. Underweight was examined by looking at 
      those with a BMI below the 15th or the 5th UK 90 percentiles. MAIN RESULTS: A 
      total of 2,482 adolescents were surveyed (response rate 84%), 73% from non-white 
      ethnic groups. Although there were significant differences in BMI between ethnic 
      groups, high levels of overweight were seen in all ethnic groups. More than 
      one-third were overweight and one-fifth were obese using the UK 90; and over a 
      quarter were overweight and almost one-tenth were obese using the IOTF cut-offs. 
      Two per cent were extremely obese. Indian males were at higher risk of being 
      overweight than white British males. The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 
      similar in white British and Bangladeshi males. Overall the prevalence of 
      underweight was slightly lower than that predicted by the UK 90, but South Asian 
      ethnic groups, especially males, had a higher prevalence of underweight than 
      other groups. No associations between BMI and measures of socio-economic status 
      were found in this relatively deprived population. CONCLUSIONS: The 'epidemic' of 
      childhood obesity observed in the UK involves adolescents from all ethnic groups, 
      although there are some differences between ethnic groups in the prevalence of 
      overweight. Indian males appear to be at increased risk of being overweight. 
      There is no evidence of a simultaneous increase in underweight amongst this 
      population overall, but Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani boys appear to be at 
      increased risk of being underweight.
FAU - Taylor, Stephanie J C
AU  - Taylor SJ
AD  - Centre for General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Community Health 
      Sciences, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, 
      London, UK. s.j.c.taylor@qmul.ac.uk
FAU - Viner, Russell
AU  - Viner R
FAU - Booy, Robert
AU  - Booy R
FAU - Head, Jenny
AU  - Head J
FAU - Tate, Helen
AU  - Tate H
FAU - Brentnall, Sarah L
AU  - Brentnall SL
FAU - Haines, Mary
AU  - Haines M
FAU - Bhui, Kamaldeep
AU  - Bhui K
FAU - Hillier, Sheila
AU  - Hillier S
FAU - Stansfeld, Stephen
AU  - Stansfeld S
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - England
TA  - Ethn Health
JT  - Ethnicity & health
JID - 9608374
SB  - IM
MH  - Adolescent
MH  - *Body Weight
MH  - Child
MH  - Data Collection
MH  - Ethnicity/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - London/epidemiology
MH  - Male
MH  - Obesity/*epidemiology/ethnology
MH  - Prevalence
MH  - *Social Class
EDAT- 2005/04/05 09:00
MHDA- 2005/06/17 09:00
CRDT- 2005/04/05 09:00
PHST- 2005/04/05 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/06/17 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/04/05 09:00 [entrez]
AID - KV17185J61677622 [pii]
AID - 10.1080/13557850500071095 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ethn Health. 2005 May;10(2):113-28. doi: 10.1080/13557850500071095.