Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Overweight and obesity in black and Hispanic children aged 2-18 is at a growing rate (8). The average weight of children of all races is also growing (8). Minority and low-income childhood overweight and obesity are growing more rapidly than whites and high-income children (4). This can be combated with prevention programs and behavior modification. The prevalence of obesity in minority populations can be as much as three times higher than in whites (1). In 2000, in boys aged 6-11, 17.1 percent of blacks and 27.3 percent of Hispanics are overweight or obese (10). In their female counter parts, 22.2 percent of blacks and 19.6 percent of Hispanics are overweight or obese (10). Among minority children aged 12-19, 20.7 percent of black and 27.5 percent of Hispanic boys are overweight, while 26.6 percent of black girls and 19.4 percent of Hispanic girls are overweight or obese (10). Low-income children are twice as likely to be overweight or obese as wealthy children, and since a larger percentage of minorities are low-income, this may be a factor to their higher rates of overweight and obesity (1). Also, black and Hispanic children have lower rates of breakfast consumption than whites, which is a contributing cause of overwe