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Background: Monitoring overweight in risk groups is necessary. Our aim is to assess the trend in overweight and obesity in Turkish and Moroccan children in the Netherlands since 1997 and to monitor the levels of lifestyle-related behaviours in 2009., Methods: We selected cross-sectional data of Turkish and Moroccan children aged 2-18 years from two national Growth Studies performed in 1997 and 2009 in the Netherlands. Lifestyle-related behaviours were obtained in the 2009 study by questionnaire., Results: In 2009, 31.9% of Turkish and 26.6% of Moroccan children had overweight, whereas this was, respectively, 26.7% and 19.6% in 1997. Already at 2 years, 21.1% in Turkish and 22.7% in Moroccan children had overweight in 2009. The prevalence of obesity was above 4% from 3 years onwards. High (i.e. ≥ 25%) prevalence rates of unhealthy lifestyle-related behaviours were found for not having breakfast (26-49%) among Turkish and Moroccan adolescent (i.e. 15-18 years) girls, consuming no fruit (29-45%) and watching TV/PC ≥ 2 h (35-72%) among all Turkish and Moroccan adolescents, no walking/cycling to school/day care among preschool children (2-4 years) (28-56%) and adolescents (34-94%), drinking ≥ 2 glasses of sweet beverages (44-74%) and being <1 h physically active (29-65%) among all children., Conclusion: An upward trend of overweight and obesity occurred in Turkish and Moroccan children. Already at 2 years of age, one out of five Turkish and Moroccan children had overweight, which calls for early prevention with attention to specific lifestyle-related behaviours., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To study trends in height of Turkish and Moroccan immigrant children living in The Netherlands, to investigate the association between height and background characteristics in these children, and to calculate height-for-age-references data for these groups., Design: Nationwide cross-sectional data collection from children aged 0 to 18 years by trained professionals in 1997 and 2009. The study population consisted of 2,822 Turkish 2,779 Moroccan, and 13,705 Dutch origin children in 1997 and 2,548 Turkish, 2,594 Moroccan, and 11,255 Dutch origin children in 2009., Main Outcome Measures: Mean height in cm, and mean height standard deviation scores., Results: In 2009, mean height at the age of 18 y was similar for Turkish and Moroccan children: 177 cm for boys and 163 cm for girls, which was 2 to 3 cm taller than in 1997. Still, Turkish and Moroccan adolescents were 5.5 cm (boys) to 7 cm (girls) shorter than their Dutch peers. No significant differences were found in mean height standard deviation scores across the educational level of the parents, geographical region, primary language spoken at home, and immigrant generation., Conclusions: While the secular height increase in Dutch children came to a halt, the trend in Turkish and Moroccan children living in The Netherlands continued. However, large differences in height between Turkish and Moroccan children and Dutch children remain. We found no association with the background characteristics. We recommend the use of the new growth charts for children of Turkish and Moroccan origin who have a height-for-age below -2SD on the growth chart for Dutch children.

Background: Morbid obesity can be a life threatening condition. The aim of our study is to assess the trend in morbid obesity in The Netherlands among children of Dutch origin since 1980, and among children of Turkish and Moroccan origin since 1997., Methods and Findings: Cross-sectional height and weight data of children of Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan origin aged 2-18 years were selected from three national Dutch Growth Studies performed in 1980, 1997 and 2009 (n = 54,814). Extended international (IOTF) cut-offs in childhood were used to define morbid obesity (obesity class II and III combined). The morbidity index for overweight was calculated as the prevalence of morbid obesity divided by the prevalence of overweight. Our study showed that the prevalence of morbid obesity in children of Dutch origin was 0.59% in boys and 0.53% in girls in 2009. Significant upward trends occurred since 1980 and 1997. The prevalence was three to four fold higher in Turkish children compared to Dutch children. The Turkish children also had an upward trend since 1997, but this was only statistically significant in boys. The prevalence of morbid obesity in Moroccan children was two to three fold higher than in Dutch children, but it remained almost stable between 1997 and 2009. The Dutch and Turkish children showed an upward trend in morbidity index for overweight since respectively 1980 and 1997, while the Moroccan children showed a downward trend since 1997. In 2009, children of low educated parents had the highest prevalence rates of morbid obesity; 1.06% in Dutch, 2.11% in Turkish and 1.41% in Moroccan children., Conclusions and Significance: An upward trend of morbid obesity in Dutch and Turkish children in The Netherlands occurred. Monitoring and reducing the prevalence of childhood morbid obesity is of high importance for these children, health care and the community.

Background: The prevalence of obesity and overweight is highest among ethnic minority groups in Western countries. The objective of this study is to examine the contribution of ethnicity and beliefs of parents about overweight preventive behaviours to their child's outdoor play and snack intake, and to the parents' intention to monitor these behaviours., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents of native Dutch children and children from a large minority population (Turks) at primary schools, sampled from Youth Health Care registers., Results: Native Dutch parents observed more outdoor play and lower snack intake in their child and had stronger intentions to monitor these behaviours than parents of Turkish descent. In the multivariate analyses, the parents' attitude and social norm were the main contributing factors to the parental intention to monitor the child's outdoor play and snack intake. Parental perceived behavioural control contributed to the child's outdoor play and, in parents who perceived their child to be overweight, to snacking behaviour. The associations between parents' behavioural cognitions and overweight related preventive behaviours were not modified by ethnicity, except for perceived social norm. The relationship between social norm and intention to monitor outdoor play was stronger in Dutch parents than in Turkish parents., Conclusions: As the overweight related preventive behaviours of both children and parents did differ between the native and ethnic minority populations of this study, it is advised that interventions pay attention to cultural aspects of the targeted population. Further research is recommended into parental behavioural cognitions regarding overweight prevention and management for different ethnicities.