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. 2008 Sep 21:8:320.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-320.

Secular changes in height, weight and body mass index in Hong Kong Children

Hung-Kwan So  1 , Edmund A S Nelson, Albert M Li, Eric M C Wong, Joseph T F Lau, Georgia S Guldan, Kwok-Hang Mak, Youfa Wang, Tai-Fai Fok, Rita Y T Sung
Affiliations

Secular changes in height, weight and body mass index in Hong Kong Children

Hung-Kwan So et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Large population growth surveys of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y were undertaken in Hong Kong in 1963 and 1993. The global epidemic of obesity is a major public health concern. To monitor the impact of this epidemic in Hong Kong children and to identify secular changes in growth, a further growth survey was undertaken in 2005/6.

Methods: Cross-sectional height and weight measurements of 14,842 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y from Hong Kong's 18 districts were obtained during the 2005/6 school year. Percentile curves were constructed using LMS method and sex-specific percentile values of weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age were compared with those data from 1963 and 1993.

Results: Secular changes in height, weight and BMI were noted between 1963 and 1993 and between 1993 and 2005/6. In the latter period, greater changes were observed at younger ages, and particularly in boys. On an annual basis, the 1993-2005/6 changes were less than those during 1963-1993. Using the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs, 16.7% of children were overweight or obese in 2005/6, which was a 5.1% increase since 1993.

Conclusion: These data provide policy-makers with further evidence of the secular changes in child growth and the increasing obesity epidemic among Hong Kong children.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of height (cm), body weight (kg) and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) for Hong Kong Chinese children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y between 1993 and 2005/6.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentile curves of height (cm), body weight (kg) and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) for Hong Kong Chinese children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y for 2005/6.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Total and annual difference of mean between 1963 and 1993 (d1) and between 1993 and 2005/6 (d2) by gender for height (cm), body weight (kg) and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) for Hong Kong Chinese children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y.
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