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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Shahrzad Aseel, BS, School of Public Health, Jackson State University, 350 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive, Jackson, MS 39213, Clifton C. Addison, PhD, Jackson Heart Study/Project Health, Jackson State University, 350 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive, Suite 701, Jackson, MS 39213, and Brenda W. Campbell-Jenkins, MPH, Jackson Heart Study, 350 W. Woodrow Wilson Drive, Suite 701, Jackson, MS 39213, (601)-368-4631, brenda.w.campbell@jsums.edu.

Objectives: The concern about obesity is especially alarming because the childhood obesity rate in the United States has increased dramatically in the recent decades. The State of Mississippi currently leads the nation in the prevalence of obesity, a disease that has devastating consequences on human health. Since obese children generally develop into obese adults, a lifetime full of disease seems to be looming in the future of the obese children of Mississippi. This study sought to examine the correlates of obesity in 6–12-year old children in Hinds County, Mississippi.

Methods: This was a qualitative study that used the Whole Health Analysis of Obesity Problem Research (WHAOPR) approach. The WHAOPR approach concentrates on personal practices relating to diet and physical activity, and socioeconomic characteristics of the obese person. This questionnaire was developed to address the whole person and was used to solicit responses from the family of 6–12 year old school children enrolled in the public schools of Hinds County, Mississippi.

Results: Obesity is seen to be the result of a combination of diet, physical activity, and socioeconomic consequences, and not by a single variable. The children's preference for sweet and salty food was evident.

Conclusion: To prevent obesity, we must understand all causal variables. One thing that is evident is that intervention in the eating habits of the children is desperately needed

Learning Objectives:

• Learning Objectives
• Participants will be able to understand the causal variables of obesity in children
• Participants will be able to appreciate the need for intervention in early childhood
• Participants will be able to evaluate the influence of family practices on children’s habits

Keywords: Children's Health, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered