Child Obesity Rates Improve for Some Groups in the U.S.

According to a new report, published online in the journal Pediatrics, obesity rates are still rising for black and American Indian girls and the percentage of youths in the heaviest range – those whose body mass index (BMI) sets them in the 99th percentile for their age and sex.

The research viewed the BMI rates among 8.3 million fifth, seventh and ninth-grade students in California from 2001 to 2008. The researchers team discovered that among California public school students in 2008, 38% were overweight, 19.8% were obese and 3.6% were severely obese. To put those numbers in perspective, groups at the 99th BMI percentile, the scientists determined that only Asian youth and Caucasian boys displayed any signs of decline after 2005. All other groups – including Hispanic boys and girls, white girls, black boys and girls, and American Indian boys and girls – peaked in 2005 and then remained at a plateau through 2008.

The research indicates there will be larger disparities among racial and ethnic groups over time, and because California accounts for 13% of the countries children, the state findings indicate special efforts need to be targeted to the highest-risk groups, said researchers led by Kristine A. Madsen, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.