title: Health status and sociodemographic characteristics of the morbidly obese American Indians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The obesity epidemic has become a health crisis in the United States, particularly for minorities. This article reports on the health status and sociodemographic characteristics of morbidly obese American Indians living in rural areas of California.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional randomized household study of 457 American Indian adults was implemented at 13 rural reservation sites throughout California. Data collected included sociodemographics, body mass index (BMI), health status, and health problems. Chi-square tests were used to assess statistical differences among categorical data and ANOVA methods were used for normally distributed continuous variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly a majority of females were morbidly obese (11.6%) or obese (37.3%), while males were significantly represented in the overweight (38%) group (P = .0007). The prevalence of morbid obesity was twice the general population (13% vs. 5.9% respectively); average age was 47 years; 35% spoke their tribal language; 87% were enrolled in a tribe; 46% had 50% or more Indian blood; 42% were married; 29% had less than 12th grade education; and the average monthly household income was $2,126. The average weight of participants was 266 pounds (P < .0001). Morbidly obese adults reported more health problems and physical limitations (P = .003) than adults in other BMI categories. Obesity status and health conditions were significant for those with type 2 diabetes (P = .003), arthritis (P = .04) and hypertension (P = .03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The obesity epidemic in the American Indian population is a severe and a multifactorial problem. The high rate of poor health status among this population should be addressed, possibly by programs designed to increase physical activity.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, School of Nursing, USA. fhodge@sonnet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Felicia S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.forename: Betty Geishirt
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Cantrell
authors.forename: Soeun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000208:ethnology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors