Onset of overweight in Nuuk, Greenland: a retrospective cohort study of children from 1973 to 1992.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the age at onset of overweight and obesity of 2-15-year-old children in Nuuk, Greenland, born between 1973 and 1992. The study was a retrospective cohort study. The data were retrieved from the children's individual health files containing information on height and weight, and the database contained a total of 12,002 measurements of BMI in 3,094 children (1,522 boys and 1,572 girls). The main outcome measure was age at onset of overweight-the age at which BMI was above an internationally recommended cutoff point for overweight. The study showed that an increasing proportion of children reached the overweight state and did so at an earlier age for later cohorts. This was seen for both boys and girls. Overweight was less prevalent among boys in all cohorts. For the 1973-1992 cohorts of children from Nuuk, Greenland, the age at onset of overweight was significantly decreased.