Early emergence of ethnic differences in chronic disease risk: the contribution of diet and physical activity

英国南亚人患肥胖症、2型糖尿病和冠心病的风险增加；英国非洲裔加勒比成年人成年后患肥胖症、2型糖尿病和中风的风险增加。这些模式的原因还没有完全被理解。然而，越来越多的证据表明，这些疾病风险的种族差异在生命早期就出现了，为在疾病确定之前进行早期预防(特别是在这些高危民族群体中)提供了机会。饮食和体力活动都是肥胖、2型糖尿病和心血管疾病的危险因素，对于解释和预防这些疾病风险的种族差异可能是重要的。然而，我们对英国南亚人和非洲加勒比人，特别是儿童在饮食和体力活动方面的种族差异知之甚少。因此，我们建议在一项正在进行的健康调查中评估2000名南亚、非洲加勒比和欧洲血统的英国小学生的饮食和体力活动模式。我们收集的信息将使我们能够研究以下问题：--不同种族的9-10岁儿童的饮食和运动模式有多大差异？-这些饮食和运动模式的差异对解释不同种族儿童之间出现的肥胖、糖尿病和心血管疾病风险的差异有多重要？-哪些因素(在个人、家庭、学校和社区层面)影响这些儿童的饮食和体育活动模式？这些因素在不同种族之间有差异吗？收集的信息将被用于制定早期预防肥胖症、2型糖尿病和心血管疾病的战略，特别是在这些高危人群中。

British South Asians face increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease; British African-Caribbean adults face increased risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes and stroke in adult life. The reasons for these patterns are not fully understood. However, there is growing evidence that these ethnic differences in disease risk emerge early in life, offering opportunities for early prevention (particularly in these high risk ethnic groups) before the diseases are established. Diet and physical activity are both risk factors for obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and could be important in explaining ?and preventing - these ethnic differences in disease risk. However, we know little about the extent of ethnic differences in diet and physical activity among British South Asians and African-Caribbeans, especially in children. We therefore propose to assess diet and physical activity patterns among 2000 British primary school children of South Asian, African-Caribbean and European origin during an ongoing health survey. The information which we will collect will allow us to examine the following questions:--How much do diet and exercise patterns vary between 9-10 year-old children children of different ethnic groups?-How important are these differences in diet and exercise patterns in explaining emerging differences in risks of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease between children from different ethnic groups?-What are the factors (at individual, family, school and community levels) which affect the dietary and physical activity patterns of these children? Do these factors differ between ethnic groups?The information collected will be used to inform strategies for early prevention of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, particularly in these high-risk ethnic groups.