Nutritional status in adults in the pluri-ethnic population of New Caledonia. The CALDIA Study Group.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the nutritional status (body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR)) of the population of New Caledonia in relation to ethnicity and urban-rural environment.


METHODS
Diabetes screening survey in two rural provinces of New Caledonia and in the suburbs of Noumea.


METHODS
8875 subjects aged 30-59 y, Europeans, Melanesians and Polynesians.


METHODS
BMI, WHR.


RESULTS
Obesity (BMI > or = 27 kg/m2 in men, 25 kg/m2 in women) was highly prevalent in all groups, but varied according to ethnicity: respectively, 43% and 52% in Europeans, 46% and 72% in Melanesians, 72% and 83% in Polynesians. In the urban area, mean WHR values, adjusted for age and BMI, were significantly higher than in rural areas, especially in Melanesians.


CONCLUSIONS
Both ethnicity and urban-rural environment are linked to the amount and distribution of adiposity, which appeared worsened in the urban area in Europeans, and even more in Melanesians.
Tassié
J M
JM
INSERM CJF 93-06, Hôpital Saint-Charles, Montpellier, France.
Papoz
L
L
Barny
S
S
Simon
D
D
D000328:Adult; D001824:Body Constitution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009510:New Caledonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data