Trends in body mass index distribution and prevalence of thinness, overweight and obesity in two cohorts of Surinamese South Asian children in The Netherlands

Objectives Asians have a smaller muscle mass and a larger fat mass at the same body mass index (BMI) than most other ethnic groups. Due to a resulting higher cardiometabolic risk, the BMI cut-offs for overweight and obesity were lowered for adults. For Asian children universal criteria apply. The objectives of this study were to determine the normal BMI distribution and assess the BMI class distribution in a reference cohort of affluent South Asian children born before the obesity epidemic and to assess the influence of the obesity epidemic on the distributions. Methods Historical cohort study... Mehr ...