TRENDS IN GROWTH AND OBESITY IN ETHNIC-GROUPS IN BRITAIN

Aim-To estimate trends in growth for 5 to 11 year old ethnic minority and inner city children and comparative representative samples from 19 83 to 1994. Design-Mixed longitudinal. Subjects-At each of six surveys , more than 2000 inner city white, 1500 Urdu or Punjabi speaking, 5000 English representative white, 3000 Scottish representative white, and around 1000 Afro-Caribbean, 500 falling to 300 Gujarati speaking, and 260 increasing to 300 other Indian children. Main outcome measurement s-Height, weight for height, and triceps skinfold thickness. Results-H eight increased in all inner city groups by similar to 1.5 cm, but gro up differences were maintained. Trends in triceps skinfold varied, but increased by 4-12% in Indian subcontinent girls. Weight for height in creased generally. Inner city white children showed conflicting trends in weight for height and fatness. Conclusions-Afro-Caribbean children are maintaining their tall, slim build, but other groups emphasise th e diversity of obesity patterns in a multi-ethnic society, with a pred ominant trend towards greater obesity. Monitoring of these groups shou ld continue.