title: Food consumption, activity, and overweight among elementary school children in an Appalachian Kentucky community.
abstract: In the U.S., child overweight is on the rise and is implicated in later adult chronic illness. Given that overweight is hardly tractable, prevention as compared to treatment is seen as a better alternative for lowering the risk of long-term health consequences. To increase the success of prevention efforts, many argue that programs must be "culturally sensitive and targeted toward specific populations at greater risk. However, there exists a limited understanding of how overweight is distributed across the landscape, among and within populations and groups. This paper reports the prevalence of overweight among 54 school children in a rural, Appalachian community with a high rate of poverty, and it compares boys to girls. Thirty-seven percent of boys and 10.3% of girls are overweight, based on the 90th percentile body mass index (BMI). Analysis of food intake indicates a pattern of food consumption that is high in fatty and sugary foods and low in fruit and vegetable consumption. Analysis of activity indicates that children report more low-intensity activity than high; that overweight children report more episodes of video/computer play compared to nonoverweight children; and that boys spend more time than girls in front of the computer/television screen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0024, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Crooks
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001823:Body Composition; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011203:Poverty; D011998:Recreation; D012737:Sex Factors