Aantal te dikke kinderen neemt langzaam af*

Objective

To determine trends in overweight and obesity prevalence in Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan, and Surinamese South Asian children in the Netherlands.

Design

Historical cohort study.

Method

A population-based study of 136,080 measurements of height and weight of 73,290 children in The Hague aged 3-16 years, measured between 1999 and 2011. BMI class and BMI-SDS-score were determined with the latest IOTF criteria, with overweight defined as an adult BMI-equivalent ≥ 25 kg/m2, and obesity ≥ 30 kg/m2. Time trends were analysed using logistic and linear regression analyses with dichotomised BMI-class and BMI-SDS respectively as dependent variable and year of measuring as independent variable, while adjusted for sex, age, and socioeconomic status.

Results

Between 1999 and 2011, the prevalence of overweight in Dutch children statistically significantly declined from 13% to 11%, but increased in Turkish children from 25% to 32%. In Moroccan and Surinamese South Asian children, overweight rates were stable (in 2011 the prevalence was 23% and 17% respectively), whereas the obesity prevalence decreased in these two groups. In children of Turkish descent, trends limited to the period 2007-2011 showed no statistically significant change for all outcome measures.

Conclusion

The decrease in obesity prevalence in Dutch, Moroccan and Surinamese South Asian children suggests that overweight children became less adipose. The stabilising trend in overweight and obesity prevalence in Turkish children since 2007 may signify a levelling off for this ethnic group.

Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: none declared.