Growth rates of Pasifika children faster than expected

AUT PIF Study. Growth rates of Pasifika children faster than expected.

The growth rate of Pasifika children under 10 years of age is faster than expected says the lead researcher of a major AUT longitudinal study. 

The longitudinal Pacific Islands Families Study indicates a rapid increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) from birth to 10 years of age with approximately 80% of children over the median figure for children in the United States in the 1990s - an internationally accepted reference for comparison.

The study also concludes that the prevalence of obesity and overweight children increased from ages 2-10 years and that the biggest children grew at a faster rate than the smallest.

This is the first time that the difference in rates of growth for Pasifika children has been tracked in a cohort over a number of years.

“These growth charts are alarming,” says lead researcher Professor Elaine Rush.

“We always knew Pasifika children grew at a faster rate than the rest of the population but how much faster was the question. These charts are not the way growth should be for this sector of society but it is the reality.”

“Rapid growth of children is driven, in part, by forces beyond their parents direct control including the availability, quality and cost of the food as well as opportunities for physical activity and their living conditions.

“This empirical evidence highlights how important early intervention is in reducing the long and short-term impacts of rapid growth for these children, their families and the wider community.”

“Before the child turns 10 years of age if the NZ weight management guidelines for children are followed then the parents of one out of two Pacific children should be advised by their health practitioner of the increased risk of other health problems for their child associated with their body size.

“We are facing a tidal wave of health issues that, at least in part, are attributable to obesity.”

Obesity is a significant contributing factor in type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Researchers on the study have been following 1,398 Pacific children and their families since the children were born 13 years ago in Middlemore Hospital. The height and weight of the children have been measured at ages 2, 4, 6, 9 and now 11 years of age.

The objective of the study is to establish a unique source of information to inform policies and interventions that will provide a better future for Pasifika and all New Zealand children.

The study including growth charts can be accessed at http://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/handle/10292/5463

ENDS

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