title: Prevalence and trends in obesity among Mississippi public school students, 2005-2009.
abstract: The purpose of this research was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mississippi children and youth in grades K-12, and to assess any changes in the prevalence during 2005, 2007, and 2009. Body Mass Index was calculated using measured height and weight data for 3,703 public school students, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was estimated. Additional analysis compared prevalence estimates by gender, race, and grade for the 2009 data, and comparisons were made between the 2005, 2007, and 2009 data. In 2009, the prevalence of obesity for all students in grades K-12 was 23.9%, as compared to 23.5% in 2007 and 25.5% in 2005. However, no statistically significant differences were found over the three time periods. The disparity between races appears to be increasing over time with the prevalence remaining level for Nonwhite students while dropping each year for White students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition & Food Systems, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406, USA. Elaine.molaison@usm.edu
authors.forename: Elaine Fontenot
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Molaison
authors.forename: Jerome R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kolbo
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Harbaugh
authors.forename: Mary G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rushing
authors.forename: Lindsey C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Blom
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008922:Mississippi / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students