Obesity in Italian Children: Regional Differences in Height, Weight, and Skinfold Thicknesses

All elementary school children in the city of Aosta were measured in May 1974 for height, weight and the triceps and subscapular skinfolds, and a clinical diagnosis of obesity was also made. The data have been analyzed with the aim of examining differences in the prevalence of obesity between children with parents who immigrated from different regions of Italy. Statistical analyses were based on the regressions of the logarithms of the weight and skinfolds on stature for the non-obese children. The obese children were compared with these regressions. Children of parents from southern Italy are smaller in stature and girls are heavier for the same stature than those of parents from the north.