Is annual household income an indicator of weight status in children and adolescents in the United States?

National surveys have shown that the prevalence of overweight children and adolescents in the United States has been increasing substantially since the late 1970's and early 1980's. Between 2003-2004 approximately 17% of children and adolescents living in the United States were labeled as overweight (JAMA, 2006) with Mississippi having the eighth highest rate of overweight adolescents and ranked first in obese adults (TFAH, 2007). Little research has been conducted to investigate the possible link between annual household income and overweight children/adolescents. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between children and adolescents who live in low income households and their overweight status. Growing up as overweight child or adolescent drastically increases the chances of becoming an obese adult. A multiple regression analysis, using SPSS soft ware version 15.0, of children in the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examine Survey will be conducted to compare several variables: annual household income, medical examined weight, race/ethnicity, and age to determine if there is a significant relationship between these variables. The results are expected to show whether or not a statistical significant relationships exist among these variables and if there is a disparity between the races/ethnicities or annual household incomes when compared to the overweight status. The data from this study will be instrumental in creating intervention programs that in time will decrease the prevalence of the overweight children and adolescents in Mississippi and in conjunction with Healthy People 2010's health disparities agenda.