Childhood Obesity Research Paper

Abstract. Childhood obesity has become one of the most common health problems facing children in America. Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reveal that ethnic minority children in the United States are at particular risk for development of cardiovascular disease due to their disproportionate levels of obesity. In treating childhood obesity among ethnic minorities, practitioners need to be mindful of the cultural norms surrounding body size. Additional concerns that must be addressed include the effects of target marketing of unhealthy foods toward ethnic minorities and environmental deterrents to outside physical activities, to name a few. Strategies given to address the problem of childhood obesity among ethnic minorities include, increasing the child's physical activity, reducing television viewing and the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle practices for the entire family.
Key Words: Childhood Obesity; Ethnic Minorities; Children; Overweight; Culture
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According to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey (NHANES III), obesity is now an epidemic in the United States. An estimated 97 million adults in the US and one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 is overweight. In the thirty years since NHANES I was conducted, the number of
Sheila P. Davis of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. This program seeks to identify children in the third, fourth and fifth grades of Jackson Public Schools who are at risk for cardiovascular disease. Indices for at risk include, for purposes of this study, body mass index indicative of overweight, triceps and subscapular skin fold measurements, family history of significant cardiac events at or before the age of 55 of a first line relative, and blood pressure measurements, physical activity measures and significant environmental