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Ethnic differences in the prevalence of overweight among young children in Hawaii

Gigliola Baruffi1, Charles J Hardy, Carol I Waslien

  • 1Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, 1960 East West Rd, Biomed C-103, Honolulu, HI 96822-2319, USA. gigliola@hawaii.edu

Journal of the American Dietetic Association
|October 23, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Ethnic background significantly impacts overweight prevalence in young children. Samoan children showed the highest rates, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to prevent childhood obesity.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Public Health
  • Growth Monitoring

Background:

  • Childhood overweight is a growing public health concern.
  • Understanding ethnic variations in child growth is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare overweight prevalence across different ethnic groups in young children.
  • To describe the age-specific patterns of overweight in early childhood.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 21,911 children aged 12-59 months in Hawaii.
  • Defined overweight using weight-for-age and Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles based on CDC 2000 growth charts.
  • Employed bivariate and multivariate analyses to assess ethnic and other factors associated with overweight.

Main Results:

  • Significant ethnic disparities in overweight prevalence were observed.
  • Samoan children exhibited the highest overweight rates (17.5% at 1 year, 27.0% at 2-4 years).
  • Overweight prevalence doubled from age 1 to ages 2-4, with ethnicity (Samoan) being a strong predictor.

Conclusions:

  • This study is the first to examine overweight in children of Asian and Pacific Island backgrounds in Hawaii.
  • Findings identify key growth characteristics and inform the design of overweight prevention programs.
  • Ethnic background, particularly Samoan, is strongly associated with higher overweight prevalence in young children.
Abstract

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