Prevalence and Prediction of Overweight and Obesity Among Elementary School Students

Abstract

BACKGROUND The high rates of childhood overweight and obesity in the US have generated interest in schools as sites for monitoring BMI information. This study established baseline values for a 5-year longitudinal assessment of BMI of elementary school children and examined variation across the schools, because little is known about factors that affect the distribution of overweight and obesity within school districts. METHODS Height and weight measurements were collected on 2,317 elementary school children in one school district. BMI was calculated using the CDC’s NutStat program. Child characteristics included gender, age, eligibility for free and reduced lunch (proxy for SES), school, grade, and ethnicity/race. Children were grouped into 2 BMI categories, < 85th percentile or ≥ 85th percentile (overweight/obesity). Logistic regression was used to examine potential predictors of overweight/obesity. RESULTS Prevalence of ≥ 85th percentile was 30.9%, 34.4%, 35.3%, 36.4%, 37.1%, and 44.5% for K-5 respectively. Prevalence of ≥ 85th percentile was highest among Hispanic children. Ethnicity was the strongest predictor of inclusion in the ≥ 85th percentile category followed by grade and free and reduced lunch eligibility. CONCLUSION The data are consistent with the prevalence of overweight/obesity among American children and Hispanic children in particular. District prevalence of overweight/obesity is higher than available state statistics. Most of the BMI variation is accounted for by ethnicity, SES, and grade. The grade effect and high prevalence of overweight/obesity provide a rationale for BMI screening retention at the schools.

The Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Adolescents from 1988 to 2014: Results from the HBSC Portuguese Survey

“…On the contrary, older adolescents in the United Stated of America were more likely to be overweight or obese [23, 24]. The differences may reflect sociocultural dissimilarities among countries and denote that the relationship between obesity and age is not determined biologically.…”

The emerging role of dietary fructose in obesity and cognitive decline

“…An estimated 18% of U.S. children and adolescents are classified as obese [7]. In a recent study, the prevalence of overweight/obesity among American and Hispanic elementary school students in grade 4 was 44.5% [8]. …”

Flavonol-rich dark cocoa significantly decreases plasma endothelin-1 and improves cognition in urban children

“…Tirsi et al put forward the idea that endothelial dysfunction in childhood obesity may precede cerebro-vascular damage and cognitive impairment in adulthood. This is important, obesity is a problem in Hispanic children and insulin resistance is part of the picture (Moreno et al, 2013; Guerrero-Romero et al, 2013). Thus, cocoa supplementation attenuation of insulin resistance (Grassi et al, 2008; Gu et al, 2013) is a desirable effect in exposed children.…”