While some 15% of children with native Dutch origins are overweight, 26% of children with ‘foreign origins’ are too heavy for their age, according to an international study.

And 9% of children with a mother tongue other than Dutch or who have at least one foreign-born parent are obese, the research quoted by news agency ANP, found.
‘Consumption of soft drinks is usually higher in immigrant families and meal-times are less likely to be regular,’ professor Johannes Brug of Amsterdam’s VU university told ANP. ‘These children also watch more television, do less sport and sleep less. They are, however, more likely to walk or cycle to school.’
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Education levels, income and access to health information also play a role, said the professor, who coordinated the Dutch part of the research.
This month, it emerged three children from the same family were put under official social work supervision earlier this year because they were obese.
A study published in April found almost one in four children in the Netherlands aged 10 to 12 are overweight and 6% are obese. It is not clear if the new figures come from the same project, which also involved VU researchers.