Body mass index prevalence estimates of a statewide monitoring initiative in Idaho

Given the significant health consequences associated with childhood obesity, many states have developed legislation to initiate school-based obesity monitoring programs. Idaho is one of many states without a monitoring program, so collaborations between the State Department of Education and four state universities were developed to institute a body mass index (BMI) monitoring program in grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of race/ethnicity, school size, school type, socioeconomic status (SES; estimated by school participation in free and reduced school lunch programs (FRSL)), and region on BMI prevalence. Measurements were taken by trained personnel who travelled to each school to measure body mass (via digital scale) and stature (via stadiometer). A total of 5,242 students (2,427 girls and 2,815 boys) from 40 different schools and 32 different communities in all six regions of the state were measured. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 30.5%, ranging from 24.3% for grade 1 to 33.0% for grade 7. Significantly more males were obese than females (p<0.0001), particularly in adolescents (p<0.0001). Schools with larger numbers of low SES students (>60% FRSL participation) had significantly higher percentages of obese students (19.5%) compared to the schools with the lowest FRSL participation (10.0%)(p<0.0001). Prevalence of obesity by community was highly variable (10-50%), indicating that where students attend school may be important. This investigation demonstrates not only the status of obesity in a large state-wide sample, but the feasibility of a multi-institutional school-based obesity monitoring program.