title: Correlation between high risk obesity groups and low socioeconomic status in school children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity is a major health problem among children and adolescents which is potentially affected by socioeconomic status (SES). The high risk group (HRG) comprises those youths with a body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile (at risk for overweight) and > or = 95th percentile (overweight). We sought a potential link between the HRG and SES.
  
  
  METHODS
  Public schools in Chesterfield County, Virginia measured BMI among students in kindergarten and third, seventh, and tenth grades. We assessed SES based on eligibility for the National School Lunch Program and the percentage of the school-age population living in poverty based on per capita income from the 2000 Census.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 28 to 38% of children and adolescents were in the high risk group. Low SES had robust and highly significant correlations with HRG status with r-values ranging from 0.565 to 0.842, P < 0.0001.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low SES appears to be an important factor in childhood and adolescent obesity.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. vvieweg@visi.net
authors.forename: Victor R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Vieweg
authors.forename: Christopher H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Jack O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Lanier
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Anand K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pandurangi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014768:Virginia / Q000453:epidemiology