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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Ruth H. Striegel-Moore, PhD¹, Debra L. Franko, PhD², Douglas Thompson, PhD³, Eva Obarzanek, PhD⁴, John Morrison⁵, George B. Schreiber, ScD⁶, Frank Biro, MD⁵, and Stephen R. Daniels, MD⁵. (1) Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, 207 High St., Middletown, CT 06459, (860) 685-2328, rstriegel@wesleyan.edu, (2) Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology, Northeastern University, 203 Lake Hall, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, (3) Maryland Medical Research Institute, 600 Wyndhurst Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210, (4) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Building 31, Room 5A52, 31 Center Drive MSC 2486, Bethesda, MD 20892, (5) Division of Adolescent Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave., ML 7002, Cincinnati, OH 45229, (6) Westat, 1650 Research Blvd., Rockville, MD 20850

Objective: Using CDC cutpoints, to determine the prevalence and incidence of overweight in girls age 9-18, assess the association between overweight and cardiovascular risk factors during childhood, and examine the association between childhood overweight and obesity in young adulthood. Method: The longitudinal National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS) included data from 1166 white and 1213 black girls who were assessed annually from ages 9 to 18. Young adult weight was also obtained at ages 21-23. Mixed logistic regressions were constructed to analyze the data. Results: Rates of overweight increased through adolescence in both white and black girls. Incidence (first onset) of overweight was greater during early than later adolescence. Compared with non-overweight girls, overweight girls were 10 times more likely to exhibit elevated SBP (95% CI: 5.0-20.0, p<0.0001) and 3 times more likely to exhibit elevated DBP (95% CI: 1.3-7.3, p=0.01). Compared with non-overweight girls, overweight girls were over 6 times more likely to exhibit decreased HDL (95% CI: 3.4-11.8, p <0.0001) and over 3 times more likely to exhibit elevated triglycerides (95% CI: 1.6-7.1, p = 0.002); no association was found with elevated LDL or total cholesterol. Compared with girls who were not overweight, those who were overweight during ages 9-18 were 11 to 30 times more likely to be obese as young adults (ages 21-23; all p<0.0001). Conclusions: Public health efforts are needed to prevent childhood overweight through early detection and by encouraging programs that increase healthy eating and physical activity in children.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify rates of overweight in black and white girls.
• Describe the risk of young adult obesity for overweight adolescents.
• Link overweight with cardiovascular risk factors in adolescent girls.

Keywords: Obesity, Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered