Recorded presentation

Lynn S. Edmunds, MS, RD¹, Mary Lou Woelfel, MA¹, Barbara A. Dennison, MD², Howard Stratton, PhD³, and Victoria G. Lazariu, PhD¹. (1) Division of Nutrition, Evaluation and Analysis Unit, New York State Department of Health, 150 Broadway, 6th Floor West, Albany, NY 12204, 518.402.7302, vgl01@health.state.ny.us, (2) Bureau of Health Risk Reduction, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Adult Health, New York State Department of Health, 150 Broadway, 3rd Floor West, Albany, NY 12204, (3) University at Albany, Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, One University Place, Rensselaer, NY 12144

OBJECTIVES: To determine prevalence and trends in overweight (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 95th percentile) in a large, multi-ethnic, low-income population of children.

METHODS: Trends in overweight prevalence, between 1989 and 2003, among children, 2 through 4 years, enrolled in WIC in NY (N=58,000 to 83,000 per year) were examined by race/ethnicity and sex. Changes in BMI distribution were quantified separately for 2, 3 and 4-year-old children. Overweight prevalence was compared to two national samples of pre-school children.

RESULTS: Between 1989 and 2003, overweight prevalence increased 33%, from 12% to 16%. Prevalence was highest for Hispanics and lowest for non-Hispanic whites. Rates of increase (0.27 percentage points per year) were the same for Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, and non-Hispanic whites. Across the distribution, BMI was higher in 2003 than in 1989, however, for 3 and 4-year-old children increases in BMI were greater for children above the 85th BMI reference percentile, indicating that the heaviest children in 2003 were considerably heavier than were the heaviest children in 1989.

CONCLUSIONS: Overweight prevalence increased among all children studied, even the youngest, and those at the lowest end of the BMI distribution. Parallel trends for whites, blacks, and Hispanics suggest common environmental factors are contributing to the increases in overweight. To combat the epidemic of overweight, intervention strategies should begin early in life and include both population-based approaches and high-risk interventions.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session the participant will be able to
• describe the 15 year trends in overweight in this multi-ethnic population of children in low-income families and
• discuss the shift in the distribution of BMI and the public health implications.

Keywords: Obesity, Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.

Recorded presentation