Race/Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Obesity: Environmental Influences

Sally C. Curtin, University of Maryland
Suzanne Randolph, University of Maryland
Wakina Scott, University of Maryland

American children today are four times more likely to be overweight than they were in the mid 1960s, with variation across race/ethnic and gender groups. One-quarter of African American girls 6-11 were overweight, compared with 13% of white girls; one-quarter of Mexican boys 6-11 were overweight compared with 14% of white non-Hispanic boys. Overweight results from imbalances in energy intake and expenditure. We propose to review race/ethnic differences in the family and community that may be linked to this imbalance. We then conduct analyses of family and community factors associated with race/ethnic disparities in obesity using the PSID-Child Development Supplement and the Youth Media Campaign (CDC) data. These studies have information not only on child and parent height and weight but also on time use, expenditures on food and on physical activities, and family attitudes toward and barriers to physical activity.