In the present study, we investigated nutritional status and health-related factors in a multistage cluster sample of 3119 Thai urban and rural children aged 0·5-12·9 years. In a subsample, blood samples were collected for the measurement of Hb, transferrin receptor, vitamin A and vitamin D concentrations. The prevalence of stunting and underweight was higher in rural children than in urban children, whereas the wasting rate was similar in both rural and urban areas. Among children aged 3·0 -5·9 years, the prevalence of overweight was significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas and so was the obesity rate in children aged 6·0 -12·9 years. Protein intakes of all age groups were relatively high in both the areas. Intakes of Ca, Fe, Zn and vitamin C were significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas. The prevalence of anaemia in rural areas was twice as high as that in urban areas, particularly in infants and young children. However, the prevalence of Fe-deficiency anaemia was similar in both urban and rural areas. While the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (by serum retinol cut-off ,0·7 mmol/l) seemed to be very low, vitamin A insufficiency (by serum retinol cut-off , 1·05 mmol/l) was more prevalent (29·4 -31·7 %) in both the areas. The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency ranged between 27·7 and 45·6 % among the children. The present study indicates that the double burden of malnutrition is still a major public health problem in Thailand. Further studies need to explore the associated risk factors for these nutrient deficiencies. Effective strategies and actions are needed to tackle the nutritional problems in Thai children.

Overweight and obesity in Asian children are increasing at an alarming rate; therefore a better understanding of the relationship between BMI and percentage body fat (%BF) in this population is important. A total of 1039 children aged 8 -10 years, encompassing a wide BMI range, were recruited from China, Lebanon, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. Body composition was determined using the 2 H dilution technique to quantify total body water and subsequently fat mass, fat-free mass and %BF. Ethnic differences in the BMI -%BF relationship were found; for example, %BF in Filipino boys was approximately 2 % lower than in their Thai and Malay counterparts. In contrast, Thai girls had approximately 2·0 % higher %BF values than in their Chinese, Lebanese, Filipino and Malay counterparts at a given BMI. However, the ethnic difference in the BMI-%BF relationship varied by BMI. Compared with Caucasian children of the same age, Asian children had 3 -6 units lower BMI at a given %BF. Approximately one-third of the obese Asian children (%BF above 25 % for boys and above 30 % for girls) in the study were not identified using the WHO classification and more than half using the International Obesity Task Force classification. Use of the Chinese classification increased the sensitivity. Results confirmed the necessity to consider ethnic differences in body composition when developing BMI cut-points and other obesity criteria in Asian children.

Background: To prevent adolescent obesity, recent research suggests that physical activity (PA), recreational screen-time, and sleep duration are codependent behaviours that being in a movement behaviour continuum in a 24-hour period. Yet, it is unknown about compliance with the 24-hour movement guidelines in Asian adolescents, and how these movement behaviours collectively affect overweight and obesity in adolescents. The purposes of this study were to compare compliance with the 24-movement guidelines in Asian adolescents, as well as to examine the association between meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines and body fat percentage.

Background/Objectives: To develop and cross-validate bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) prediction equations of total body water (TBW) and fat-free mass (FFM) for Asian pre-pubertal children from China, Lebanon, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. Subjects/Methods: Height, weight, age, gender, resistance and reactance measured by BIA were collected from 948 Asian children (492 boys and 456 girls) aged 8-10 years from the five countries. The deuterium dilution technique was used as the criterion method for the estimation of TBW and FFM. The BIA equations were developed using stepwise multiple regression analysis and cross-validated using the Bland-Altman approach. Results: The BIA prediction equation for the estimation of TBW was as follows: TBW ¼ 0.231 Â height 2 / resistance þ 0.066 Â height þ 0.188 Â weight þ 0.128 Â age þ 0.500 Â sexÀ0.316 Â ThaisÀ4.574 (R 2 ¼ 88.0%, root mean square error (RMSE) ¼ 1.3 kg), and for the estimation of FFM was as follows: FFM ¼ 0.299 Â height 2 /resistance þ 0.086 Â height þ 0.245 Â weight þ 0.260 Â age þ 0.901 Â sexÀ0.415 Â ethnicity (Thai ethnicity =1, others = 0)À6.952 (R 2 ¼ 88.3%, RMSE ¼ 1.7 kg). No significant difference between measured and predicted values for the whole cross-validation sample was found. However, the prediction equation for estimation of TBW/FFM tended to overestimate TBW/FFM at lower levels whereas underestimate at higher levels of TBW/FFM. Accuracy of the general equation for TBW and FFM was also valid at each body mass index category. Conclusions: Ethnicity influences the relationship between BIA and body composition in Asian pre-pubertal children. The newly developed BIA prediction equations are valid for use in Asian pre-pubertal children.

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