Epidemiology of overweight and related lifestyle behaviours among American youth
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Cross-sectional survey data from nationally representative samples in the Monitoring the Future study from 1998 to 2003 were used to examine, among youths in their 8th and 10th grades, differences in the prevalence of youths at (or above) the 85th percentile of age- and gender-adjusted body mass index (BMI) by race/ethnicity (white, black, and Hispanic) and socioeconomic status. The possible role of a number of lifestyle behaviours and family/parenting factors was then explored. Data analysis conducted in 2006 revealed that minority, low-income males, and male youths were more likely to have a BMI at or above the 85th percentile. Frequency of breakfasting, of eating fruits and vegetables, and of exercising were inversely associated with being at or above the 85th percentile, whilst the number of hours per week spent watching television (a variable which also reflects less parental supervision after school) was positively associated with being at or above the 85th percentile, these lifestyle behaviours being more important than the family/parenting variables examined. According to the authors, racial/ethnic and SES differences in becoming at risk of overweight or overweight are present by early adolescence, and the overrepresentation of youths at risk for overweight or overweight among racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations mimics the excess morbidity of overweight and obesity-related health conditions in these populations.
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