Childhood obesity
Nov. 26, 2006 12:00 AM
Childhood obesity
• Nationally, the percentage of children ages 6 to 11 who are overweight has more than doubled since 1980 from 7 percent to 15 percent.
• There is a higher prevalence of obesity among Hispanic children. According to a 2001 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mexican-American boys have the highest prevalence of obesity, surpassing the rate of both Black and White (non-Hispanic) boys, and Mexican-American girls have the second-highest prevalence of obesity, second only to Black girls. advertisement
• While child obesity affects one in every six American children between the ages of 6 and 19, one in every three children is likely to be obese in urban Hispanic areas.
• According to the National Diabetes Education Program, Native Americans are nearly three times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic Whites of similar age, and Pima Indians have rates of diabetes that are the highest in the world.
• There is also a higher risk for obesity among low-income children, with 24 percent of low-income children between the ages of 2 and 5 years of age overweight or at risk for being overweight in Arizona.
• Obese children receive less acceptance from peers and discrimination from adults; they exhibit a greater sense of rejection and failure, have poorer interpersonal relationships and have limited social interests.
Childhood Obesity