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Health Status > Children
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Overweight
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The National Survey of Children’s Health
asked parents to give the height and weight of their children
in order to determine their Body Mass Index (BMI). Overweight
means that the child’s BMI, calculated from the parent-reported
height and weight, is at or above the 95th percentile for
sex and age. Overall, 14.8 percent of children aged 10 to
17 years were classified as overweight in 2003.
The prevalence of overweight varies by
a number of factors, including race and ethnicity, age,
and family income. Of children with family incomes below
100 percent of the Federal poverty level (FPL), almost one-quarter
(22.4 percent) were overweight, compared to 19.0 percent
of children with family incomes between 100 and 199 percent
FPL, 13.7 percent of children with family incomes between
200 and 399 percent FPL, and 9.1 percent of children with
family incomes of 400 percent FPL or more. With regard to
race and ethnicity, Non-Hispanic Black children were most
likely to be overweight (23.5 percent) based on parent-reported
height and weight, followed by Hispanic children (18.9 percent);
White children were least likely to be overweight (12.0
percent). Multiracial children and children of other races
have rates of overweight that are approximately equal (15.3
and 15.2 percent, respectively).
>
Bar Chart: Children Aged 10-17 Years Who
Are Overweight, by Race/Ethnicity: 2003
>
Bar Chart: Children Aged 10-17 Years Who
Are Overweight, by Family Income: 2003
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Child Health USA 2006 is not copyrighted. Readers are free to duplicate and use all or part of the information contained on this page. Suggested Citation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Child Health USA 2006. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006. |