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Obesity rate high for off-reservation, American Indian children
American Indian children at an off-reservation clinic have an obesity rate double that of white children and are less likely to have had a well-child visit, according to study findings.
Emily J. Tomayko, PhD, of the department of nutrition at University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and colleagues analyzed electronic health records from 1,482 American Indian children and 81,042 white children with documented primary care visits between 2007 and 2012. Researchers examined related community-level and individual-level risk factors with logistic regression models.
Researchers found that American Indian children had nearly double the rate of obesity vs. white children (20% vs. 10.6%; P < .001) and a higher rate of overweight (14.8% vs. 12.7%; P < .001). In addition, American Indian children also had fewer well-child visits per year than white children (55.9% vs. 67.1%; P < .001).
American Indian children were also more likely to have Medicaid, to live in urban settings and more likely to experience financial hardship than non-Hispanic white children. American Indian children also have a greater risk of developing obesity-related chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease
Researchers said the higher numbers may be attributed to many factors, including poverty, racism, historic trauma, rural isolation, urban loss of community, stress, lack of access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities, and safety issues that may prevent physical activity.
“It remains unclear whether American Indian children seeking care outside of tribal or [Indian Health Service] clinics more closely resemble children in the geographic area in which they live or align more closely with their reservation-based counterparts,” the researchers wrote. “This study also emphasizes the importance of standardizing the collection of race and ethnicity information in electronic medical records to decrease misclassification and missing information for future analysis.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.