Early identification of Mexican American children who are at risk for becoming obese

OBJECTIVE: To describe the problem of obesity in Mexican American children and provide a method for identifying Mexican American children at risk for obesity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional and retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: Mexican American children, ages 5-11 (kindergarten (K)-5th grade) were studied in cross-sectional (girls = 463, boys = 448) and retrospectiv e (girls = 124, boys = 92) samples. MEASUREMENTS: Weights (kg) and heights (cm) were extracted from each child' s school medical records. Measurements were made by the school nurses (one nurse per school). Body mass index (BMI [w/h(2)]) was calculated from obtai ned weights and heights. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity in the cross-sectional sample was 27.4% for girls and 23.0% for boys. The highest prevalence was noted in 4th grade for both the girls (32.4%) and boys (43.4%), The 5 year incidence rates de rived from the retrospective sample were 17.7% for girls and 21.1% for boys . The largest increase in the number of girls becoming obese was observed b etween K and Ist grade (15.6%). The largest increase for boys was found bet ween the Ist and 2nd grades (13.2%). Logistic regression parameters were ca lculated to estimate the probability of becoming obese in 5th grade given a child's K BMI. Using the generated equation, BMIs in K equal to 16.5, 20.9 , and 23.7 would have a 21.0%, 70.0%, and 91.0% probability of being obese by 5th grade. CONCLUSION: This study provides schools with a simple procedure for identif ying Mexican American children at risk for obesity. This procedure may assi st in the development and implementation of interventions aimed at averting the onset of obesity in this population.