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  • Pediatric Expert Report
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Insufficient evidence to support separate BMI definitions for obesity in children and adolescents from south Asian ethnic groups in the UK

International Journal of Obesity volume 34, pages 656–658 (2010)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 10 May 2010

Abstract

Re-evaluation of adult obesity thresholds in some ethnic groups has led to the questioning of childhood obesity thresholds. An expert group was convened to examine the representativeness of childhood obesity definitions, evidence for ethnic differences in body composition in UK children and the extent of misclassification of adiposity by current body mass index (BMI) thresholds in south Asian and black groups. The group concluded that the current International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) definitions remained the most appropriate for use in the United Kingdom, but further research was needed on the relationship of body shape, fat mass, metabolic markers and ethnicity in children and adolescents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Child Growth Foundation, UK, for supporting the meeting. The above data are being prepared for separate publications by the authors concerned. Travel and arrangements for the meeting were funded by the UK Child Growth Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation (http://www.childgrowthfoundation.org/). Participants were not personally remunerated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. General and Adolescent Paediatrics Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK

    R M Viner

  2. Child Growth Foundation, London, UK

    T Fry

  3. Whipps Cross and St Bartholomews Hospitals, London, UK

    S Gupta

  4. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    S Kinra

  5. Institute for Health Research and Policy, London Metropolitan University, London, UK

    D McCarthy

  6. Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, Imperial College, London, UK

    S Saxena

  7. Institute of Health Sciences Education, Barts and The London School of Medicine, London, UK

    S Taylor

  8. Childhood Nutrition Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK

    J C K Wells

  9. Community Health Sciences, St. George's, University of London, London, UK

    P Whincup

  10. Department of Cardiology, University College London, London, UK

    M J S Zaman

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  1. R M Viner
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  2. T Fry
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  3. S Gupta
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  8. J C K Wells
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  9. P Whincup
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  10. M J S Zaman
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Correspondence to R M Viner.

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Viner, R., Fry, T., Gupta, S. et al. Insufficient evidence to support separate BMI definitions for obesity in children and adolescents from south Asian ethnic groups in the UK. Int J Obes 34, 656–658 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.237

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.237

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