This study describes the anthropometry of an urban black population living in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. A random sample of 986 selected adults aged 15-64 years and 163 children aged three to six years, included data on heights, weights, and mid-upper arm circumferences and calculation of the body mass index (BMI). The mean height of men was 168.3 cm and that of women 158.3 cm. Mean weight, BMI and mid-upper arm circumference for men were 66.2 kg, 23.4 and 28.1 cm and for women 69.8 kg, 27.8 and 30.6 cm respectively. The prevalence of underweight in men (BMI < 20) was 19% and in women (BMI < 19) 3.7%; 22% of the men were overweight (BMI > or = 25) and 7.9% obese (BMI > or = 30), while 36.4% of women were overweight (BMI > or = 24) and 34.4% obese (BMI > or = 30). More than half of the women above the age of 35 years were obese. Anthropometry of the three to six year old children was calculated for stunting, wasting and underweight, expressed in terms of the National Centre for Health Statistics standards, and revealed co-existing evidence of growth retardation and wasting with emergent obesity. These findings suggest that a part of this community, who may have been nutritionally deprived during childhood, has moved from undernutrition to extreme overnutrition without having achieved optimal nutritional status. Complexities that need to be considered when planning strategies to address malnutrition in the black South African population are identified.