Childhood overweight and obesity have increased in recent decades, reaching alarming proportions. Children with a migrant background seem to be particularly at risk of developing overweight and obesity. This article provides an overview of the prevalence of overweight or obesity among North African (NA) children living in their own countries or as immigrants in Europe. The aim is to show the effect of the migration process on this trend and to discuss its possible contributing factors. Publications were identified by a systematic search of PubMed and the existing literature. Original longitudinal or cross-sectional studies on the prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity and of physical activity among ethnic groups from North Africa compared with the native population were reviewed. The results confirmed that children of NA origin in Europe have higher levels of overweight and obesity than the native ones, especially girls. However, this trend can also be detected in urban areas of NA countries. Important factors contributing to the increase of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents are discussed, in particular the westernization of eating habits, the level of physical activity and body image perception. The review shows that factors linked to acculturation in the host society and others maintained from the country of origin come into play in determining childhood overweight and obesity among NA immigrants in Europe. The importance of health promotion targeting the groups most at risk of childhood overweight and obesity, i.e. aspects of a healthy diet and the benefits of physical activity, is underlined.

BackgroundRecent studies have shown that body image perception is an important factor in weight control and may be influenced by culture and ethnicity. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between immigrant status of the mother and weight status and body image perception of the child.MethodsIn total, 2706 schoolchildren (1405 boys and 1301 girls) aged 8–9 years and their mothers participated in a cross-sectional survey in Emilia-Romagna region (northern Italy). Weight and height of the children were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Actual and ideal body image perception by the children and by the mothers with respect to their children was evaluated according to Collins’ body image silhouettes.ResultsThe BMI values were significantly lower in children of immigrants than in children of Italian mothers (F:17.27 vs 17.99 kg/m2; M:17.77 vs 18.13 kg/m2). The prevalence of overweight/obesity was lower, and the prevalence of underweight higher, in children of immigrant mothers than in those of Italian mothers (overweight- F:21.3 vs 29.1%; M. 28.3 vs 31.4%; underweight- F:5.16 vs 3.84%; M:6.63 vs 2.82%). The children's body image perception was consistent with the differing pattern of nutritional status. In the comparison between actual and ideal figures, the Feel-Ideal Difference Index (FID) scores resulted different between the subsample with foreign-born mother in comparison to the native one (significantly lower in daughters of immigrants) (FID- F: 0.31 vs 0.57; M: 0.35 vs 0.32). There were significant differences in the choice of the ideal figure of the child between immigrant mothers and Italian mothers (FID- F: -0.05 vs 0.19; M: -0.35 vs −0.03): the ideal figure values were higher in the immigrant mothers of male children and lower in the Italian mothers of female children.ConclusionOur results suggest that cultural and behavioral factors linked to ethnicity play an important role in the nutritional status of children and in the perceived and ideal body image.

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Introduction: Plague has been responsible for two major historic pandemics (6th-8th century CE; 14th-19th century CE) and a modern one. The recent Malagasy plague outbreaks raised new concerns on the deadly potential of the plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis. Between September 2014 and April 2015, outbreaks of bubonic and pneumonic plague hit the Malagasy population. Two hundred and sixty-three cases, including 71 deaths, have been reported in 16 different districts with a case fatality rate of 27%. The scope of our study was to ascertain whether the risk factors for health in modern-day populations exposed to plague and in ancient populations that faced the two historic pandemics varied or remained substantially unaltered. Methodology: The risk of mortality of the Malagasy population with those obtained from the reconstruction of three samples of European populations exposed to the historic pandemics was contrasted. Results: The evidence shows that the risks of death are not uniform across age neither in modern nor in historic populations exposed to plague and shows precise concentrations in specific age groups (children between five and nine years of age and young adults). Conclusions: Although in the post-antibiotic era, the fatality rates have drastically reduced, both modern and historic populations were exposed to the same risk factors that are essentially represented by a low standard of environmental hygiene, poor nutrition, and weak health systems.

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