Differences in overweight and obesity among children from migrant and native origin: a systematic review of the European literature

Abstract

SummaryTo review the prevalence regarding overweight and obesity among children and adolescents from migrant and native origin within Europe, a systematic review (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)) was performed, using Embase, PubMed and citation snowballing. Literature research resulted in 19 manuscripts, reporting studies in six countries, mostly situated in Western and Central Europe.From this review, it appears that, in most of the European countries for which data are available, especially non-European migrant children are at higher risk for overweight and obesity than their native counterparts. The prevalence of overweight in migrant children ranged from 8.9% to 37.5% and from 8.8% to 27.3% in native children. The prevalence of obesity in migrant children ranged from 1.2% to 15.4% and from 0.6% to 11.6% in native children. Some limitations of the review are discussed, especially the problematic classification of migrant and native children.Apparently, migrant children display an even more sedentary way of life or adverse dietary patterns, as compared with native children. To what degree these differences can be explained by socioeconomic and cultural factors remains to be investigated. As overweight and obese children are at risk for many chronic health problems, further research is urgently needed in order to develop preventive interventions.

Teacher and Peer Reports of Overweight and Bullying Among Young Primary School Children

“…18 Another important addition to existing literature is the importance of possible confounding factors. Previous studies presented marginally adjusted results, [10][11][12][14][15][16] and sociodemographic factors such as socioeconomic and ethnic background are important risk factors for overweight 30,31 and have also been implicated in bullying involvement, 19,32 although not consistently. 33 We showed that these factors accounted for a substantial part of the BMIbullying association.…”

Fruit and vegetable consumption among migrants in Switzerland

“…However, the evidence on dietary patterns is mixed (25) . While some studies report that migrant status is associated with a low daily intake of fruit and vegetables or adverse dietary patterns (26,27) , others report that migrant status is associated with a higher daily intake or beneficial dietary patterns compared with the native population of the host country (28)(29)(30)(31)(32) . Given that the mixed evidence partially reflects culture-specific dietary practices as well as acculturation to the dietary practices of the host countries, we may expect different patterns of fruit and vegetable consumption among migrants in Switzerland as well.…”

Citizenship, Fertility, and Parental Investments

“…Childhood obesity is becoming an increasingly relevant issue, and evidence from a variety of European countries (e.g., Labree et al 2011) and the United States (Popkin and Udry 1998) suggests that obesity rates are higher among the children of immigrants than among native ones.…”