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Major Finding: From 2003 to 2007, the number of children with a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher grew from 14.8% to 16.4%.
Data Source: National Survey of Children's Health, 2003 and 2007 data.
Disclosures: Study partially funded by federal grant; investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.
The percentage of children aged 10–17 years considered overweight remained stable between 2003 and 2007, but the national prevalence of childhood obesity grew significantly in the same time period, according to a new study showing nearly one in three children is overweight or obese.
The study also found marked disparities between the rates of overweight and obesity associated with socioeconomic status, school outcomes, neighborhoods, health insurance coverage, and quality of care.
“The national prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is alarming, but does not tell the whole story,” according to study author Christina Bethell, Ph.D., director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and her associates.
“Tremendous variation and disparities across and within states and population sub-groups demonstrates why we need both targeted, local interventions and broad statewide and national policies across many sectors, including education, transportation, parks and recreation, and health care,” Dr. Bethell said in a statement.
Dr. Bethell and her colleagues compared 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health to data from 2003. They found that the percentage of overweight children, defined as a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th-94th percentiles for age and sex, held at about 15.5% over the 4-year study period. But the number of obese children, defined as a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher, grew from 14.8% to 16.4% over the same period (Health Aff. 2010 [10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0762
State statistics varied widely, the study found. Utah and Minnesota had the lowest rate of overweight and obesity (23%) in 2007; Mississippi had the highest (44%).
In addition, publicly insured children were at higher risk for overweight and obesity. Between 2003 and 2007, the combined overweight-obese rate rose from 39.6% to 43.2% for children who were covered by public insurance programs, while privately insured children saw a much smaller increase, from 26.7% to 27.3%.
Children living in poverty were more likely to be overweight or obese, as were children who lived in unsafe neighborhoods, neighborhoods without a park or recreation center, or poorly kept neighborhoods.
Major Finding: From 2003 to 2007, the number of children with a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher grew from 14.8% to 16.4%.
Data Source: National Survey of Children's Health, 2003 and 2007 data.
Disclosures: Study partially funded by federal grant; investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.
The percentage of children aged 10–17 years considered overweight remained stable between 2003 and 2007, but the national prevalence of childhood obesity grew significantly in the same time period, according to a new study showing nearly one in three children is overweight or obese.
The study also found marked disparities between the rates of overweight and obesity associated with socioeconomic status, school outcomes, neighborhoods, health insurance coverage, and quality of care.
“The national prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is alarming, but does not tell the whole story,” according to study author Christina Bethell, Ph.D., director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and her associates.
“Tremendous variation and disparities across and within states and population sub-groups demonstrates why we need both targeted, local interventions and broad statewide and national policies across many sectors, including education, transportation, parks and recreation, and health care,” Dr. Bethell said in a statement.
Dr. Bethell and her colleagues compared 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health to data from 2003. They found that the percentage of overweight children, defined as a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th-94th percentiles for age and sex, held at about 15.5% over the 4-year study period. But the number of obese children, defined as a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher, grew from 14.8% to 16.4% over the same period (Health Aff. 2010 [10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0762
State statistics varied widely, the study found. Utah and Minnesota had the lowest rate of overweight and obesity (23%) in 2007; Mississippi had the highest (44%).
In addition, publicly insured children were at higher risk for overweight and obesity. Between 2003 and 2007, the combined overweight-obese rate rose from 39.6% to 43.2% for children who were covered by public insurance programs, while privately insured children saw a much smaller increase, from 26.7% to 27.3%.
Children living in poverty were more likely to be overweight or obese, as were children who lived in unsafe neighborhoods, neighborhoods without a park or recreation center, or poorly kept neighborhoods.
Major Finding: From 2003 to 2007, the number of children with a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher grew from 14.8% to 16.4%.
Data Source: National Survey of Children's Health, 2003 and 2007 data.
Disclosures: Study partially funded by federal grant; investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.
The percentage of children aged 10–17 years considered overweight remained stable between 2003 and 2007, but the national prevalence of childhood obesity grew significantly in the same time period, according to a new study showing nearly one in three children is overweight or obese.
The study also found marked disparities between the rates of overweight and obesity associated with socioeconomic status, school outcomes, neighborhoods, health insurance coverage, and quality of care.
“The national prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is alarming, but does not tell the whole story,” according to study author Christina Bethell, Ph.D., director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and her associates.
“Tremendous variation and disparities across and within states and population sub-groups demonstrates why we need both targeted, local interventions and broad statewide and national policies across many sectors, including education, transportation, parks and recreation, and health care,” Dr. Bethell said in a statement.
Dr. Bethell and her colleagues compared 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health to data from 2003. They found that the percentage of overweight children, defined as a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th-94th percentiles for age and sex, held at about 15.5% over the 4-year study period. But the number of obese children, defined as a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher, grew from 14.8% to 16.4% over the same period (Health Aff. 2010 [10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0762
State statistics varied widely, the study found. Utah and Minnesota had the lowest rate of overweight and obesity (23%) in 2007; Mississippi had the highest (44%).
In addition, publicly insured children were at higher risk for overweight and obesity. Between 2003 and 2007, the combined overweight-obese rate rose from 39.6% to 43.2% for children who were covered by public insurance programs, while privately insured children saw a much smaller increase, from 26.7% to 27.3%.
Children living in poverty were more likely to be overweight or obese, as were children who lived in unsafe neighborhoods, neighborhoods without a park or recreation center, or poorly kept neighborhoods.