For Release: March 10, 1997 5 p.m. (ET)
Below is a highlight of a study published in the March issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Members of the media may obtain the full text of this study by e- mailing the AAP Division of Public Relations at [email protected] and asking for C420-97.
21-YEAR STUDY DISCOVERS INCREASES IN OBESITY AND WEIGHT CHICAGO--Children and adults are more likely to be overweight and obese than they were 20 years ago, according to a recent study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, examined more than 11,000 5- to 24-year-olds over two decades. Initial screenings were held in 1973 and 1974 with 5- to 14-year-olds enrolled in the Bogalusa Heart Study, a study of cardiovascular risk factors present early in life. The original participants and others also were eligible to participate in the study between the ages of 15 to 17 and 19 to 24. The researchers discovered a twofold increase from 1973 to 1994 in the prevalence of participants being overweight. They also found that 31 percent to 37 percent of the 5- to 14-year-olds in 1992 through 1994 would have been considered overweight or obese according to standards used in 1973 through 1974. Because overweight children have an increased risk of being overweight as adults, the studys authors conclude there is a need for prevention at a young age.
EDITORS NOTE: This study was published in the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, but does not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the Academy. The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 51,000 pediatricians dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
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