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Trends and patterns in height and weight status of low-income U.S. children
R Yip1, K Scanlon, F Trowbridge
1Division of Nutrition, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Insights
Low-income children show higher rates of shortness but not overweightness. However, older children and adolescents may be experiencing increasing excess weight, warranting further study.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Growth Monitoring
- Public Health
Background:
- Understanding growth patterns in low-income children is crucial for targeted health interventions.
- Previous studies indicated potential disparities in growth among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze anthropometric trends in low-income children using national surveillance data.
- To identify changes in height-for-age and weight-for-height over time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II (NHANES II).
- Analyzed data from the CDC Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PNSS) across multiple states and years.
- Compared anthropometric measures (height-for-age, weight-for-height) between income groups.
Main Results:
- Low-income children exhibited a higher prevalence of shortness (low height-for-age) but not overweightness (high weight-for-height) compared to higher-income peers.
- PNSS data showed stable height and weight trends for low-income children under five, with notable height improvements in Southeast Asian refugee children.
- PNSS data from Louisiana and Michigan indicated increased height and significant weight-for-height increases in school-aged, low-income children and adolescents from 1977-1990.
Conclusions:
- Low-income children face distinct growth challenges, primarily related to height deficits.
- While younger children's growth appears stable, older low-income children and adolescents may be at risk for excess weight gain.
- Further research is recommended to confirm and understand the trend of increasing excess weight in older, low-income populations.
Abstract:
To better define the trends and patterns of growth for low-income children, we studied the anthropometry data collected by the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) and the CDC Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PNSS). Based on NHANES II, we found that low-income children appear to have a greater prevalence of shortness (low height-for-age), but do not have a greater prevalence of overweight (high weight-for-height) when compared with children from higher income families. Based on 12 states that were monitored continuously by the PNSS from 1980 to 1989, low-income children under 5 years of age appear to have a stable trend of height and weight status, with the exception of Asian children, most of whom were from Southeast Asian refugee background, showed a dramatic improvement in height status. However, based on PNSS data for the years 1977 to 1990 from Louisiana and Michigan, school-aged children and adolescents appear to have become slightly taller as well as having significant increases in body weight in relation to height. An additional investigation is needed to verify this trend of increasing excess weight among older, low-income children.