Even the children are bigger in Texas, study finds

	Tweet

Everything is bigger in Texas, including the children.

A study released on Thursday by the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston has found that younger Texas children have a much higher rate of obesity than the national average.

Data collected from 6,000 students in the 4th, 8th and 11th grades across the state found that 22 percent in the 4th grade and 19 percent in the 8th grade were overweight, compared to about 15 percent nationally.

The state’s 11th graders were about the same as the rest of the nation.

All the figures were way above a national goal of 5 percent the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set for 2010.

Principal investigator Deanna Hoelscher said national studies she had seen found only Native American youngsters in some areas with higher obesity rates than young Texans.

While Texans like to boast about the grand scale of the Lone Star State and everything in it, “this is one place Texas definitely does not want to be bigger,” she said.

She said the study had not yet pinned down why Texas kids were more likely to be overweight, but the usual culprits of diet and lack of exercise were probably factors, Hoelscher said.

The study found that obesity was particularly prevalent among Hispanic and black kids, with the worst being Hispanic boys.

In the eighth grade, 33 percent of Hispanic boys were overweight, Hoelscher said.

White girls in the 11th grade were the thinnest, with only 5.5 percent considered fat.

The bad news, Hoelscher said, was that fat kids usually became fat adults.

“And the longer you’re overweight, the more likely you are to develop weight-related health problems such as diabetes, High Blood Pressure and heart disease,” she said. 

RELATED STORIES:
Kids anxious before surgery slower to recover   Weight testing predicts eye disease in preemies   Liver, belly fat may identify high risks of heart disease in obese people   US child obesity problem worse than thought   Airway Obstructions Have High Death Rate for Young Children   Back-Over Injuries to Children Greater with Trucks, Minivans   U.S. program aims to help babies beat obesity odds   Childhood allergies on the rise   When Kids Allowed to Eat, Postoperative PONV Decreases   Pediatrics: Kids need specialized care in hospital emergency departments   Milk better than water to rehydrate kids: McMaster study   Probiotics may help babies with constipation

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]