Overweight and obesity in children of immigrant families from different countries Results of studies on the occasion of enrolment in an elementary school in Stuttgart

In Germany, the rate of overweight and obese children is higher in children of immigrant families than in children of non-immigrant families. As prevention requires the identification of risk groups, differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity are studied according to the countries of origin of the immigrant families. In the studies on the occasioin of enrolment in an elementary school in 2004, 2006 and 2007, size and weight of 14 280 children totally were determined in a standardized procedure and compared to the German BMI reference values. The families' origin was determined by the Language in which the parents talked to their childen during their first three years of Life. Information about the nationality of the children was available in addition. The quality of their residential areas was taken as an indicator of the children's social status. 13.0% of the children had a BMI >= P90. 7.1% were overweight but not obese, 6% were obese; this equally applied to girls and boys. In children of families from Turkey, Italy, Greece and the former Yugoslavia, an overweight prevalence of 11.3% and a prevalence for obesity of 11.3% have been found. Thus 22.1% of these children had a BMI >= P90. Over-weight and obesity prevalence for German children of non-immigrant families and for Russian, English and French speaking children were not elevated. The better the residential area of the German children, the lower their overweight prevalence. In children of immigrant families, these differences according to the quality of the residential areas have not been found. For a selective prevention of overweight and obesity, specific programs for children of immigrant families from Southern countries are urgently needed.