Editorial
Our Vulnerable Children: Poor and Overweight
Abstract
The threat of obesity to the physical and mental health of children is high and rising. Worldwide, about 1 child out of 4 is overweight or obese–nearly as many as are affected by undernourishment.1 In the United States, 28.2% of 2 to 19 year olds were overweight or obese in 2000; by 2004, the prevalence increased to 33.6%.2 Local data from Chesterfield County VA, reported in this issue, indicate a similar prevalence. Reports show that young children, 2 to 5 years old, are getting fatter faster than ever before.3,4 And although the overall rates of childhood obesity are alarmingly high, they are higher still among ethnic minority and low-income communities.5This content is limited to qualifying members.
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References
1. Lobstein T, Baur L, Uauy R, IASO International Obesity TaskForce. Obesity in children and young people: a crisis in public health. Obesity Reviews 2004;5 (Suppl 1):4–85.
2. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, et al. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999–2004. JAMA 2006;295:1549–1555.
3. Sherry B, Mei Z, Scanlon KS, et al. Trends in state-specific prevalence of overweight and underweight in 2- through 4-year-old children from low-income families from 1989 through 2000. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158:1116–1124.
4. Stettler N. High prevalence of overweight among pediatric users of community health centers. Pediatrics 2005;116:e381–388.
5. Kumanyika S, Grier S. Targeting interventions for ethnic minority and low-income populations. Future Child 2006;16:187–207.
6. Sinha R, Fisch G, Teague B, et al. Prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance among children and adolescents with marked obesity. N Engl J Med 2002;346:802–810.
7. Narayan KM, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, et al. Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. JAMA 2003;290:1884–1890.
8. Olshansky SJ, Passaro DJ, Hershow RC, et al. A potential decline in life expectancy in the United States in the 21st century. N Engl J Med 2005;352:1138–1145.
9. Reilly JJ, Armstrong J, Dorosty AR, et al. Early life risk factors for obesity in childhood: cohort study. BMJ 2005;330:1357.
10. Latner JD, Stunkard AJ. Getting worse: the stigmatization of obese children. Obes Res 2003;11:452–456.
11. Dalton S. Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools, and Communities Can Do to Control the Fatness Epidemic. Berkeley, University California Press, 2004.
