title: Indications of early obesity in low-income Hmong children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if there is evidence of obesity in low-income Hmong children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women, Infants, and Children clinics in Minneapolis, Minn.
  
  
  METHODS
  271 US-born Hmong children, ages 1.00 through 4.99 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive sample of all Hmong children seen in two clinics between September and December 1989.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Heights and weights were measured and converted to National Center for Health Statistics z scores of weight for age, height for age, and weight for height. Relative to National Center for Health Statistics reference data, mean height-for-age z scores decline progressively after age 2 years to--1.2 z at age 4.5 years. Mean weight-for-height z scores exceeded the National Center for Health Statistics reference significantly at ages 3 and 4 years, and there was more than a fourfold excess of Hmong children beyond the 95th percentile in weight for height at these ages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is evidence of early obesity in Hmong children, an ethnic group heretofore considered to be a low risk for obesity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Development and Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Himes
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Story
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Czaplinski
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dahlberg-Luby
mesh_terms: D001210:Asia, Southeastern / Q000208:ethnology; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D011203:Poverty; D012016:Reference Values; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology