Prevalence of overweight and obese Hispanic-American children

Nutrition Research Newsletter, Sept, 2004

As overweight and obesity among children and adolescence increases it is important to identify subgroups of children who are at a greater risk, so that treatment and prevention efforts can be directed toward them. The prevalence of obesity has been found to be higher among both Hispanic- and African-American youth than among non-Hispanic white children.

The purpose of a recent study performed at the NIH was to conduct a cross-sectional survey in two community clinics to determine the prevalence of overweight among inner city Hispanic children and youth of predominantly El Salvadoran ancestry and examining the correlation between the clinical comorbidities of obesity and the body mass index (BMI) of such children.

A cross-sectional survey of Hispanic children and adolescents at two community clinics in inner city Washington, DC was conducted. The clinics studied serve a low socioeconomic minority population. Every other child 6 yr to 18 yr old who was registered to been seen at the clinic and whose parents were both identified as Hispanic was eligible for the study. Parents and children were given questionnaires that focused on birth history, past and current medical history, family medical history, migration history, sociodemographics, socioeconomic status, feeding history during infancy, acculturation, parental body perception, physical activity, and sedentary behavior pattern. Physical assessments included height, skinfold thicknesses (SF), waist circumference, blood pressure, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and sexual maturation staging. The outcome variable BMI was calculated and the researchers used the 85th and 95th percentile cut-off points for age and sex from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Growth Charts, children with BMI >95th percentile for age and sex were categorized as overweight, and those with BMI between 85th and 94th percentile for age and sex were categorized as at risk for overweight. Percentage body fat >30% was used to indicate over fatness.

Thirty-eight percent of children and adolescents were overweight and 22% at risk for overweight. Thirty-four percent had triceps SF >90th percentile and 29% subscapular SF >90th percentile. Fifty-one percent of males and 70% of females had body fat > 30%. Compared to their nonoverweight counterparts, overweight youth had significantly higher systolic blood pressure (111.4 [ or -] 1.3 vs. 104.5 [ or -] 0.9 mm Hg, p < 0.0001). Among children younger than 11 years of age, overweight was associated with onset of adrenarche (23% vs. 10%, p = 0.01). Participation in one or more sports teams was negatively correlated with overweight, p = 0.04.

The population studied has a prevalence of overweight that was twice the national average for US children and 1.7 times greater than that of Mexican-American children in national surveys. Overweight in this study was associated with early pubertal development, high body fat, elevated blood pressure, and decreased sports participation.

N. Mirza, K. Kadow, M. Palmer, et al. Prevalence of overweight among inner city Hispanic-American children and adolescents. Obes Res; 12:1298-1310 (August, 2004). [Correspondence: Nazrat Mirza, Department of Pediatrics, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20010. E-mail: nmirza@cmnc.org].