Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Department

Nursing

Abstract

Purpose. This study determined 2010 rates of overweight/obesity in a representative sample of low-income preschoolers in Mississippi, USA and compared rates between 2005 (� = 1 2 5 0) and 2010 (� = 1 7 6 5). Significance. Obesity is a significant global health issue because of its well-established negative health consequences. Child obesity is a concern due to risk of early-onset obesity-related illnesses and the longevity of lifetime exposure to those illnesses. Methods. Identical measures were used in 2005 and 2010 with complex-stratified sampling designs. Results. Chi-square tests revealed that overall obesity/overweight rates between 2005 (20.6%/17.9%) and 2010 (20.8%/17.0%) had not changed significantly for the samples as a whole, nor by gender or race. Age group comparisons indicated a significant decline in obesity rates of 3 year olds (20.3% in 2005, reduced to 13.1% in 2010, � = 0 . 0 3 5). These findings mimic the trend toward stabilization of obesity rates noted in national low-income preschool populations.

Comments

Copyright © 2011 Bonnie L. Harbaugh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Publication Title

ISRN Nursing

Volume

2011

Issue

Article ID 270464

First Page

1

Last Page

7

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