"Severe obesity in children requires attention because it is associated with high rates of risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease as children get older," said Marsha Marcus, Ph.D., lead study author.
Researchers invited 6,365 middle-school children to health screenings at 42 middle schools in diverse U.S. locations. Half of the children were minority students or eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Clinicians define severe obesity differently in children than they do in adults. In children, the measurement used is a percentile of body mass index (BMI) for age and sex. For this study, researchers considered children with a BMI in the 99th percentile to be severely obese - and 6.9 percent of students fell into this category.
continued at MedicalNewsToday.com>>
Researchers invited 6,365 middle-school children to health screenings at 42 middle schools in diverse U.S. locations. Half of the children were minority students or eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Clinicians define severe obesity differently in children than they do in adults. In children, the measurement used is a percentile of body mass index (BMI) for age and sex. For this study, researchers considered children with a BMI in the 99th percentile to be severely obese - and 6.9 percent of students fell into this category.
continued at MedicalNewsToday.com>>
