ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Ethnic group differences in overweight and obese children and young people in England: cross sectional survey

S Saxena¹, G Ambler², T J Cole³, A Majeed¹

¹ Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Royal Free and University College London, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK
² Medical Statistics Unit, Research & Development Directorate, UCLH NHS Trust, London NW1 2LT, UK
³ Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr S Saxena
Lecturer in Primary Care, Research & Development Directorate, UCLH NHS Trust, 112 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2LT, UK; sonia.saxena{at}pcps.ucl.ac.uk

Aims: To determine the percentage of children and young adults who are obese or overweight within different ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Methods: Secondary analysis of data on 5689 children and young adults aged 2–20 years from the 1999 Health Survey for England.

Results: Twenty three per cent of children (n = 1311) were overweight, of whom 6% (n = 358) were obese. More girls than boys were overweight (24% v 22%). Afro-Caribbean girls were more likely to be overweight (odds ratio 1.73, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.33), and Afro-Caribbean and Pakistani girls were more likely to be obese than girls in the general population (odds ratios 2.74 (95% CI 1.74 to 4.31) and 1.71 (95% CI 1.06 to 2.76), respectively). Indian and Pakistani boys were more likely to be overweight (odds ratios 1.55 (95% CI 1.12 to 2.17) and 1.36 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.83), respectively). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of obese and overweight children from different social classes.

Conclusion: The percentage of children and young adults who are obese and overweight differs by ethnic group and sex, but not by social class. British Afro-Caribbean and Pakistani girls have an increased risk of being obese and Indian and Pakistani boys have an increased risk of being overweight than the general population. These individuals may be at greater combined cumulative risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease and so may be a priority for initiatives to target groups of children at particular risk of obesity.

Keywords: obesity; overweight; ethnic group; socioeconomic status; health survey; England

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