Nutritional status in adults in the pluri-ethnic population of New Caledonia

Abstract

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. DESIGN: Diabetes screening survey in two rural provinces of New Caledonia and in the suburbs of Noumea. SUBJECTS: 8875 subjects aged 30–59 y, Europeans, Melanesians and Polynesians. MEASUREMENTS: BMI, WHR. RESULTS: Obesity (BMI≥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. CONCLUSION: 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.