title: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in a group of children between the ages of 2 to 12 years old in Puerto Rico.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity in children has been related with co-morbid conditions being an important risk factor in adult morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of overweight /obesity in a group of children in Puerto Rico.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 158 children receiving pediatric care at the San Juan City Hospital and a primary care clinic. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated in children and parents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-six percent of children were overweight/obese as well as 61% of mothers and 75% of fathers. Using weight-height percentiles graphs, 49% of children were overweight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows the high prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and their parents. Using the BMI for evaluating weight identified more children at risk than the traditionally used graphs. Identifying risk factors will help health care professionals and parents intervene to improve the health of these families.
authors.affiliation: San Juan City Hospital, Department of Pediatrics.
authors.forename: Myrta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Otero-González
authors.forename: Lourdes
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: García-Fragoso
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology