Introduction. This study investigates the association between ethnic background and overweight (obesity included) among 5 year olds. Methods. We used baseline data from 5 year olds ( ) and their parents collected for the “Be active, eat right” study. A child was considered to be of non-Dutch ethnic background when at least one of the parents was born abroad. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. Results. Compared to children of Dutch ethnic background, for children with a Moroccan ethnic background the OR for being overweight (obesity included) was 2.27 (95% CI 1.48–3.47), for Turkish children the OR was 3.63 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.46–5.35), for Antillean children the OR was 1.97 (95% CI 1.01–3.86), and for Surinamese children the OR was 0.47 (95% CI 0.20–1.06). Addition of parental overweight decreased the ORs for Moroccan and Turkish children by 10.2% and 12.5%, and addition of watching TV and having breakfast by the child decreased the ORs by 7.9% and 12.2%. Conclusion. Already at a young age, children of Moroccan and Turkish ethnic background are at increased risk for being overweight compared to Dutch children. Parental overweight, watching TV, and not having breakfast by the child are contributing factors in this association. 1. Introduction The prevalence of overweight among children is substantial in most parts of the world [1–3]. Overweight during childhood is associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, psychosocial problems, impaired quality of life, being overweight as an adult, and high economic costs [2, 4]. In addition to behavioral, environmental, and socioeconomic risk factors [2, 5–8], being a child with an ethnic background different than the main ethnic group within a country may be a specific risk factor [9–14]. Among children in European countries, there is a large diversity of ethnic groups. Ethnic subgroups are often minority groups with a lower socioeconomic position than the main ethnic group within a country [9]. Lower socioeconomic position and minority status are suggested to be associated with a lower health status, including overweight [2, 8, 9, 15]. Recent studies on prevalence of overweight between subgroups of children of different ethnic background were conducted in non-European countries, mainly in the USA [11, 13, 16–20]. The studies from the US showed that, overall, Mexican American children and non-Hispanic black children are at increased risk for being overweight or obese, and that Asian American children have lower prevalences, compared to
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