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Objective: Obesity is highly prevalent among ethnic minorities and acceptance of larger body sizes may put these ethnic minorities at risk of obesity. This study aimed to examine body size ideals and body satisfaction in relation to body weight, in two Sub-Saharan African (SSA)-origin groups in the Netherlands compared to the Dutch. Additionally, in the two SSA-origin groups, this study assessed the mediating role of acculturation in the relation between ethnicity and body size ideals and body satisfaction., Methods: Dutch, African Surinamese and Ghanaians living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, participated in the observational HELIUS study (n = 10,854). Body size ideals were assessed using a validated nine figure scale. Body satisfaction was calculated as the concordance of current with ideal figure. Acculturation was only assessed among SSA-origin participants and acculturation proxies included age of migration, residence duration, ethnic identity and social network. Weight and height were measured using standardised protocols., Results: SSA-origin women and Ghanaian men had larger body size ideals compared to the Dutch; e.g. Surinamese and Ghanaian women had 0.37 (95%CI 0.32; 0.43) and 0.70 (95%CI 0.63; 0.78) larger body size ideals compared to Dutch women. SSA-origin participants were more often satisfied with their weight compared to the Dutch. Similarly, SSA-origin participants had more than twice the odds of being satisfied/preferring a larger figure compared to the Dutch (e.g. BSurinamese men 2.44, 95%CI 1.99; 2.99). Within the two SSA-origin groups, most acculturation proxies mediated the relation between ethnicity and body size ideals in women. Limited evidence of mediation was found for the outcome body satisfaction., Conclusion: Public health strategies promoting a healthy weight may need to be differentiated according to sex and ethnic differences in body weight perception. Factors other than acculturation may underlie the ethnic differences between African Surinamese and Ghanaians in obesity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: Despite higher levels of obesity, West African migrant women appear to have lower rates of type 2 diabetes than their male counterparts. We investigated the role of body fat distribution in these differences., Methods: Cross-sectional study of Ghanaian migrants (97 men, 115 women) aged 18-60 years in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Weight, height, waist and hip circumferences were measured. Logistic regression was used to explore the association of BMI, waist and hip measurements with elevated fasting glucose (glucose≥5.6 mmol/L). Linear regression was used to study the association of the same parameters with fasting glucose., Results: Mean BMI, waist and hip circumferences were higher in women than men while the prevalence of elevated fasting glucose was higher in men than in women, 33% versus 19%. With adjustment for age only, men were non-significantly more likely than women to have an elevated fasting glucose, odds ratio (OR) 1.81, 95% CI: 0.95, 3.46. With correction for BMI, the higher odds among men increased and were statistically significant (OR 2.84, 95% CI: 1.32, 6.10), but with consideration of body fat distribution (by adding both hip and waist in the analysis) differences were no longer significant (OR 1.56 95% CI: 0.66, 3.68). Analysis with fasting glucose as continuous outcome measure showed somewhat similar results., Conclusion: Compared to men, the lower rates of elevated fasting glucose observed among Ghanaian women may be partly due to a more favorable body fat distribution, characterized by both hip and waist measurements.