title: Secular changes in height, weight and body mass index in Hong Kong Children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Large population growth surveys of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y were undertaken in Hong Kong in 1963 and 1993. The global epidemic of obesity is a major public health concern. To monitor the impact of this epidemic in Hong Kong children and to identify secular changes in growth, a further growth survey was undertaken in 2005/6.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional height and weight measurements of 14,842 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 y from Hong Kong's 18 districts were obtained during the 2005/6 school year. Percentile curves were constructed using LMS method and sex-specific percentile values of weight-for-age, height-for-age, and BMI-for-age were compared with those data from 1963 and 1993.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Secular changes in height, weight and BMI were noted between 1963 and 1993 and between 1993 and 2005/6. In the latter period, greater changes were observed at younger ages, and particularly in boys. On an annual basis, the 1993-2005/6 changes were less than those during 1963-1993. Using the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs, 16.7% of children were overweight or obese in 2005/6, which was a 5.1% increase since 1993.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data provide policy-makers with further evidence of the secular changes in child growth and the increasing obesity epidemic among Hong Kong children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, PR China. sohk@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Hung-Kwan
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: Edmund A S
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Albert M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Eric M C
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Joseph T F
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Georgia S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Guldan
authors.forename: Kwok-Hang
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: Youfa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tai-Fai
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Fok
authors.forename: Rita Y T
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Sung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male