3029.0: Monday, October 22, 2001 - Board 1

Abstract #29787

Eating Patterns, Overweight Status and Exercise Behaviors among Urban Public School Fourth Grade Students in Maryland

Susan M. Gross, PhD, MPH, RD1, Yvonne L. Bronner, ScD, RD2, Claudette Welch, PhD3, David M. Paige, MD, MPH4, and Natalie Dewberry-Moore, MS2. (1) Morgan State University, 9 Blake Court, Reisterstown, MD 21136, (2) Department of Public Health, Morgan State University, 343 Jenkins Hall, 1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21251, (3) School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) School of Public Health, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Hampton House, room 280, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205

In school aged children, poor school performance has been associated with poor eating patterns such as skipping meals and inactivity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the eating patterns of urban fourth grade public school students in Maryland and to explore how unhealthy meal patterns such as regularly skipping meals and inactivity are related. Data was collected from a convenience sample of 4th (n=219) grade public school children from four urban Maryland schools. Students were asked the number of days per week they ate lunch the number of days per week they ate breakfast. Students were classified as skipping meals if they reported eating either breakfast or lunch less than three times per week. Overweight was defined as >=85th percentile of body mass index (BMI=Weight (kg)/Height(m)2). Physical activity was reported number of days of exercise per week. The sample was 74% African-American and 57% female. Thirty-one percent of 4th graders skipped breakfast and or lunch at least three times per week. Thirty-two percent of students were classified as overweight. Twenty-three percent of students reported exercising fewer than four times per week. Those students who skipped meals were more likely to be overweight (15.9% versus 14.7%) and exercise less than three times per week (33.3% versus 16.0%). This study provides insight into eating patterns, the overweight status and inactivity of urban fourth grade students in Maryland.

Learning Objectives: 1)By the end of this session participants will be able to describe eating patterns of urban elementary school children in Maryland. 2)By the end of this session participants will be able to discuss the association between eating patterns, overweight status and inactivity among urban elementary school children in Maryland

Keywords: Nutrition, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA