Obesity More Prevalent in Poor, Low-Income Families: Study

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While previous research focused on the relationship between obesity and ethnicity (whether black or Hispanic), a new study has found that income status is more important than race in determining prevalence rates for pediatric obesity.

The study, published in the journal Childhood Obesity, has found that, although obesity rates were higher among African-American and Hispanic kids compared to Whites, these factors are overshadowed by the relationship between income status and obesity.

"The findings reveal differences in the inequalities in the physical and social environment in which children are raised," senior author Kim A. Eagle, M.D., a cardiologist and director at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center, said in a press release.

The researchers found through a model created from data acquired from 111,799 Massachusetts students that the rate of obesity goes up as the poverty levels of children in 68 different public school systems rise, overshadowing the earlier associations between ethnicity and obesity.

"It illustrates that race and ethnicity in communities may not have a significant connection to obesity status once the community's income is considered," Eagle said.

The researchers said that childhood obesity rates could have been impacted by a low amount of resources such as recreational programs and parks, as well as communities' access to full service grocery stores.

The authors said that in low-income communities, places where kids can play as well as supermarkets that can provide more choices for better food items are scarce. This promotes little to no physical activity, as well as nutritionally-poor diet.

"The battle to curb childhood obesity is critically tied to understanding its causes and focusing on the modifiable factors that can lead to positive health changes for each and every child," said Eagle.

In the past few decades, the rates for obesity among adults and children in the United States have gone up. Among 12-19 year olds, about 18.4 percent are either overweight or obese and, most often, this continues well up into adulthood.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that childhood obesity has various devastating effects in a child even in childhood. These include a heightened risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, type 2 diabetes, breathing problems, skeletal discomfort, fatty liver disease, psychological stress, low quality of life and impaired social, physical and emotional functioning.

Eagle said that to fight this health problem requires a lot of help.

"Ultimately, bottom-up neighborhood, school, and community engagement and education, and top-down legislative actions that will support healthier choices for adults and children, are needed to battle this health crisis," Eagle said.