Socioeconomics may contribute to prevalence of adolescent obesity

The prevalence of adolescent obesity may be tied to socioeconomic disparities, consistent with previously reported National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, according to researchers.

Although children are consuming fewer calories, and calories from carbohydrates, compared with 10 years ago, the trend differs among varying subgroups of adolescents, according to Carl B. Frederick, PhD, of the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, and colleagues.

They examined changes in obesity among United States adolescents aged 12 to 17 years by socioeconomic status using data from the 1998-2010 NHANES and the 2003-2011 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH).

Carl B. Frederick

Data indicate that the national prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years increased from 9.1% (95% CI, 7.7-10.5) in 1988-1991 to 17% (95% CI, 14.7-19.2) in 2003-2004.

In both NHANES and NSCH in 2003, 93.4% (95% CI, 89.5-97.3) of adolescents with college-educated parents reported at least 10 minutes of continuous physical activity in the past 30 days, and 86.6% (95% CI, 85.9-87.3) reported having exercised or played a sport for 20 minutes or more at least once in the past 7 days, researchers wrote.

Due to no change in obesity prevalence from 2003-2004 or 2009-2010, data indicate that the overall prevalence of obesity has begun to stabilize.

“The prevalence of obesity among adolescents of well-educated families has decreased in recent years, whereas the prevalence of obesity among their peers in less educated families has continued to increase. To design effective interventions, it is important to understand how different populations vary in the health behaviors that lead to obesity,” researchers wrote.

Differences in calorie intake and physical activity may play a role in these health disparities, they said.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

Published by:

Sources/Disclosures

Collapse

Source:

Frederick CB. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;doi:10.1073/pnas.1321355110.