title: Temporal trends in weight and current weight-related behaviour of Australian Aboriginal school-aged children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report 13-year trends in weight status of Australian Aboriginal children, and to describe weight-related behaviour in children in 2010, by Aboriginality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional population surveys of children aged 5-16 years (n = 18 983) conducted in New South Wales schools in Term 1 of 1997, 2004 and 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  For trend analysis: body mass index and waist-to-height ratio (WtHr). Analyses of weight-related behaviour from 2010 survey data included indicators of dietary habits, screen time (ST) and physical activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between 1997 and 2010, the relative increase in prevalence of overweight/obesity and WtHr ≥ 0.5 was 22.4% and 113.6%, respectively, among Aboriginal children, and 11.8% and 3.4%, respectively, among non-Aboriginal children. In 2010, Aboriginal children had 1.52 (95% CI, 1.03-2.24) greater odds of having a WtHr ≥ 0.5 than non-Aboriginal children. Compared with non-Aboriginal children, Aboriginal children also had significantly lower odds of eating breakfast daily (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.72; 95% CI, 0.52-0.99) and significantly greater odds of drinking ≥ 1 cup of soft drink daily (AOR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.13-2.29), having a television in their bedroom (AOR, 2.75; 95% CI, 2.04-3.70), having no ST rules (AOR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.04-1.73) and exceeding ST recommendations on weekdays (AOR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.32-2.39).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overweight/obesity and WtHr have increased more rapidly in Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal children in NSW. Unhealthy weight-related behaviour was frequent among all children, but lack of daily breakfast, excessive ST and soft drink consumption appear particularly problematic among Aboriginal children. Raising awareness with families of the consequences of excessive ST and encouraging strategies to limit ST (such as rethinking placement of televisions in children's bedrooms and implementing ST rules) hold promise.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. louise.hardy@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Louise L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Blythe J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: O'Hara
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hector
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Engelen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Eades
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012574:Schools