Trends in thin body stature among Japanese female adolescents, 2003-2012

Background: The past decades have witnessed a steady increase in thin body stature associated with unhealthy dieting among Japanese female adolescents. The most recent trends in thinness, however, have not been reported.Aim: To describe changes in the distribution of body mass index (BMI) of Japanese female adolescents, from 2003-2012.Subjects and methods: This study examined BMI distribution changes in 2541 relatively affluent Japanese girls, aged 12.5-17.5 years, during 2003-2012. The 2003 and 2004 data were combined and compared to the combined 2011 and 2012 data. Tukey mean-difference plots were used to study the direction and magnitude of shifts in BMI distributions.Results: Prevalence of thinness (BMI