QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gordon, F. K. Articles by Guthrie, B. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gordon, F. K. Articles by Guthrie, B. E.

---

Community and International Nutrition

High Levels of Childhood Obesity Observed among 3- to 7-Year-Old New Zealand Pacific Children Is a Public Health Concern

Fiona K. Gordon^*, Elaine L. Ferguson^*, Viliami Toafa^*, Teavekura-Emma Henry^*,, Ailsa Goulding^**, Andrea M. Grant^* and Barbara E. Guthrie^*

^* Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ; Pacific Island Advisory Council of Dunedin, Dunedin, NZ; ^** Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ

²To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: elaine.ferguson{at}stonebow.otago.ac.nz.

This cross-sectional, community-based survey was designed to assess attained growth and body composition of 3- to 7-y-old Pacific children (n = 21 boys and 20 girls) living in Dunedin, New Zealand, and to examine nondietary factors associated with the percentage of body fat. Fat mass, lean tissue mass and the percentage of body fat were measured using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. One trained anthropometrist also measured height, weight, skinfolds (triceps, subscapular) and circumferences (mid-upper arm, chest, waist, calf). Compared with the National Center for Health Statistics and National Health and Examination Surveys I and II reference data, these Pacific children were tall and heavy for their age with high arm-muscle-area-for-height. Median (quartiles) Z-scores for height and BMI-for-age and arm-muscle-area-for-height were 1.33 (0.60, 2.15), 1.20 (0.74, 4.43) and 1.09 (0.63, 1.85), respectively. Their median (quartile) percentage of body fat was 21.8% (15.0, 35.5) of which 38.5% was located in the trunk. The estimated percentage of children classified as obese ranged from 34 to 49% depending on the criterion used. Over 60% of the children had levels of trunk fat above 1 SD of reported age- and sex-specific Z-scores for New Zealand children. The nondietary factors examined (hours of television viewing and hours playing organized sports, as reported by parents) were not associated with variations in the percentage of body fat, after adjusting for age, sex and birth weight. These extremely high levels of obesity and truncal fat among very young New Zealand children will have major public health implications as these children age.

KEY WORDS: • Pacific • children • obesity • growth • anthropometry

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. Jouret, N. Ahluwalia, C. Cristini, M. Dupuy, L. Negre-Pages, H. Grandjean, and M. Tauber Factors associated with overweight in preschool-age children in southwestern France Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 2007; 85(6): 1643 - 1649. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. M. Grant, E. L. Ferguson, V. Toafa, T. E. Henry, and B. E. Guthrie Dietary Factors Are Not Associated with High Levels of Obesity in New Zealand Pacific Preschool Children J. Nutr., October 1, 2004; 134(10): 2561 - 2565. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]