Health and Safety - Overweight And Obese Children

The increasing numbers of overweight and obese Americans has become a national concern. The percentage of overweight children and adolescents has grown significantly since the 1970s. Between 1976 and 1980 6.2% of boys and 6% of girls ages six to eleven years were over-weight. (See Table 5.11.) From 1999 to 2002 those percentages had almost tripled for boys (16.9%) and more than doubled for girls (14.7%). An even more alarming upward trend was seen in the rates of overweight adolescents; 3.7% of boys and 5.7% of girls ages twelve to eighteen were overweight in the period from 1976 to 1980, but 17.5% of adolescent boys and 13.8% of adolescent girls were overweight between 1999 and 2002. The proportion of overweight children overall between the ages of six and eighteen almost tripled between 1976 and 2002.

Percentages of overweight children vary by race and ethnicity. In 2002 non-Hispanic white adolescents were less likely to be overweight (14.8%) than were non-Hispanic African-American (23.7%) and Mexican-American adolescents (21.5%). White children aged 6–11 were also less

FIGURE 5.3

likely to be overweight (13.5%) than Mexican-American (21.8%) or African-American children (19.8%).

Medical professionals are concerned about this trend, because overweight children are at increased risk for premature death in adulthood, as well as for many chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (type 2), gallbladder disease, respiratory disease, some cancers, and arthritis. Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Being overweight or obese also can lead to poor self-esteem and depression in children. According to the CDC, in 2003 15.4% of high school students were at risk for becoming overweight and 13.5% were already overweight (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003). (See Table 5.12.)

Weight problems in children are thought to be caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits, or a combination of these factors, with genetics and lifestyle playing important roles in determining a child's weight. Television watching and playing computer and video games also contribute to inactive lifestyles of children. According to the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 38.2% of high school students spent three or more hours

TABLE 5.11

Percentage of children 6–18 who are overweight, by gender, race, and Hispanic origin, selected years 1976–2002
	Total			Male			Femal
	1976–1980	1988–1994	1999–2002	1976–1980	1988–1994	1999–2002	1976–1980	1988–1994	1999–2002
—= not available
*= Estimates are considered unreliable (relative standard error greater than 40 percent)
aTotals include data for racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
bEstimates are unstable because they are based on a small number of persons (relative standard error greater than 30 percent).
Note: Overweight is defined as body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI-for-age growth charts (http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts). BMI is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.
SOURCE: "Table HEALTH3. Percentage of Children Ages 6 to 18 Who Are Overweight by Gender, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 1976–1980, 1988–1994, and 1999–2002," in "Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics," America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2004, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office, 2004, http://childstats.gov/ac2004/tables/health3.asp (accessed September 16, 2004)
Children ages 6–18
Totala	5.7	11.2	16	5.5	11.8	17.2	5.8	10.6	14.8
Race and Hispanic origin
White, non-Hispanic	4.9	10.5	13.2	4.7	11.3	14.3	5.1	9.6	12.1
Black, non-Hispanic	8.2	14	20.7	5.8b	11.5	18.4	10.7	16.5	23.2
Mexican American		15.4	23.1	—	16.1	26.9	—	14.7	19
Children ages 6–11
Totala	6.1	11.3	15.8	6.2	11.6	16.9	6	11	14.7
Race and Hispanic origin
White, non-Hispanic	5.6	10.2	13.5	6.1	10.7	14	5.2	9.8	13.1
Black, non-Hispanic	9	14.6	19.8	6.8b	12.3	17	11.2	17	22.8
Mexican American	16.4	21.8	−17.5	26.5	−15.3	17.1
Children ages 12–18
Totala	4.7	11.1	16.2	3.7	12	17.5	5.7	10.2	14.8
Race and Hispanic origin
White, non-Hispanic	4.3	10.8	12.9	3.6	12	14.7	5	9.5	11.1
Black, non-Hispanic	7.5	13.3	21.8	*10.7	19.9	10.3	16	23.7
Mexican American		—	14.2	24.6	—	14.4	27.3	−14	21.5

TABLE 5.12

Percentage of high school students who had or thought they had a problem with weight, by demographic characteristics, 2003
	At risk for becoming overweighta			Overweightb			Described themselves as overweight			Were trying to lose weight
	Female	Male	Total	Female	Male	Total	Female	Male	Total	Female	Male	Total
Category	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
aStudents who were 85th percentile but 95th percentile for body mass index, by age and sex, based on reference data.
bStudents who were 95th percentile for body mass index, by age and sex, based on reference data.
cNon-Hispanic
SOURCE: Adapted from "Table 58. Percentage of High School Students Who Were at Risk for Becoming or Were Overweight, by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Grade," and "Table 60. Percentage of High School Students Who Described Themselves as Slightly or Very Overweight and Who Were Trying to Lose Weight, by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Grade," in "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Surveillance Summaries: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 53, no. SS–02, May 21, 2004, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5302.pdf (accessed September 3, 2004)
Race/ethnicity
Whitec	13.8	14.3	14.1	7.8	16.2	12.2	38.5	23.5	30.8	62.6	27.9	44.8
Blackc	21.2	15.5	18.3	15.6	19.5	17.6	26.4	17.9	22.3	46.7	22.7	34.7
Hispanic	15.7	19.0	17.3	11.8	21.7	16.8	36.1	27.1	31.6	61.7	37.4	49.4
Grade
9	15.6	15.3	15.4	11.2	19.0	15.3	33.1	22.6	27.7	54.1	31.2	42.2
10	15.3	14.7	15.0	9.3	17.9	13.7	36.1	23.2	29.6	62.2	28.3	45.1
11	16.9	16.6	16.8	8.6	17.0	12.9	36.9	24.3	30.5	60.4	28.3	44.1
12	13.2	15.6	14.4	8.0	14.7	11.4	38.7	24.1	31.4	61.7	28.0	44.6
Total	15.3	15.5	15.4	9.4	17.4	13.5	36.1	23.5	29.6	59.3	29.1	43.8

per school day watching television, often not getting a sufficient amount of physical exercise as a consequence.

Physical Activity

Physical activity patterns established during youth may extend into adulthood and affect the risk of illnesses such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Mental health experts correlate increased physical activity with improved mental health and overall improvement in life satisfaction. The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003 reported that the percentage of students in high school who participated in vigorous physical activity, exercise, and physical education classes varied. (See Table 5.13.) Almost three out of four males engaged in sufficient vigorous physical activity (70%), but only slightly more than half of high school females did (55%). White students were somewhat more likely to engage in vigorous activity (65.2%) than African-American (54.8%) or Hispanic students (59.3%). Rigorous activity among high school students also generally declined with age.