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Childhood Obesity Reduction By School Based Programs

Abstract. Childhood obesity has become one of the most common health problems facing children in America. Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reveal that ethnic minority children in the United States are at particular risk for development of cardiovascular disease due to their disproportionate levels of obesity. In treating childhood obesity among ethnic minorities, practitioners need to be mindful of the cultural norms surrounding body size. Additional concerns that must be addressed include the effects of target marketing of unhealthy foods toward ethnic minorities and environmental deterrents to outside physical activities, to name a few. Strategies given to address the problem of childhood obesity among ethnic minorities include, increasing the child's physical activity, reducing television viewing and the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle practices for the entire family.
Key Words: Childhood Obesity; Ethnic Minorities; Children; Overweight; Culture
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According to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey (NHANES III), obesity is now an epidemic in the United States. An estimated 97 million adults in the US and one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 is overweight. In the thirty years since NHANES I was conducted, the number of children in the United States who are overweight has more than doubled (Winkleby, Robinson, Sunquist, and Kramer, 1999; Strass & Knight, 1999). Once obesity develops, it is difficult to treat, and obese children are more likely to become obese adults (Power, Lake, & Cole, 1997; Serdula, Ivery, Coates, Freeman, Williamson, & Byers, 1993).
Obesity has been positively identified as a major determinant of adverse serum lipid and lipoproteins and blood pressure levels, even in children (Berensen, Srinivasan, Wattigney, and Hersha, 1993; Aristimuno, Foster, Vouis, Srinivasan, & Berensan 1984). According to Berensan, et al, because obesity begins in...