TY - JOUR
T1 - Finding targets for obesity intervention in urban communities
T2 - School-based health centers and the interface with affected youth
AU - Trent, Maria
AU - Jennings, Jacky M.
AU - Waterfield, Gerry
AU - Lyman, Lisa M.
AU - Thomas, Helen
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Faculty Development Award through the Center for Adolescent Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Research Centers: U48/CCU309674 and NIH/ NCMHD: L32MD000660. Our team is especially grateful to Diane Markakis for her assistance in data management early in the study and to the clinical and administrative staff of the Baltimore City School-Based Health Program without whom this work could not have been accomplished.
PY - 2009/7
Y1 - 2009/7
N2 - Urban schools and school-based health centers (SBHCs) in low-income minority communities may be important points of intervention for overweight and obese youth. To date, little is known about the interface of overweight youth and the public health system through SBHCs. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence, geographic distribution, sociodemographic, and comorbidity factors associated with obese status as a part of a public health system needs assessment. We conducted a cross-sectional clustered sampling utilizing prospective anthropometric measurement and chart review. Demographic, anthropometric, and medical comorbidity data were collected from 2,630 students in SBHCs in Baltimore, MD, USA. Students were geocoded to their primary residential address and assigned to a census block group using MapInfo v6.5. Demographic and comorbidity associations were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Overall, the mean body mass index (BMI) was 25.5 (SD 6.6), and prevalence of obesity (BMI∈>∈95th percentile) and overweight (BMI 85th-95th percentile) was 26.5% and 15.7%, respectively. Obesity was distributed among all the schools without one school being significantly more affected than others. Obese status was associated with gender, poverty, and several medical comorbidities such as asthma, high blood pressure, and disordered eating. Public health practitioners in this SBHC system appear to be faced with a greater burden of obesity than predicted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Given the ongoing interface with affected youth, these schools and health centers may be well situated to deliver public health obesity interventions.
AB - Urban schools and school-based health centers (SBHCs) in low-income minority communities may be important points of intervention for overweight and obese youth. To date, little is known about the interface of overweight youth and the public health system through SBHCs. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence, geographic distribution, sociodemographic, and comorbidity factors associated with obese status as a part of a public health system needs assessment. We conducted a cross-sectional clustered sampling utilizing prospective anthropometric measurement and chart review. Demographic, anthropometric, and medical comorbidity data were collected from 2,630 students in SBHCs in Baltimore, MD, USA. Students were geocoded to their primary residential address and assigned to a census block group using MapInfo v6.5. Demographic and comorbidity associations were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Overall, the mean body mass index (BMI) was 25.5 (SD 6.6), and prevalence of obesity (BMI∈>∈95th percentile) and overweight (BMI 85th-95th percentile) was 26.5% and 15.7%, respectively. Obesity was distributed among all the schools without one school being significantly more affected than others. Obese status was associated with gender, poverty, and several medical comorbidities such as asthma, high blood pressure, and disordered eating. Public health practitioners in this SBHC system appear to be faced with a greater burden of obesity than predicted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. Given the ongoing interface with affected youth, these schools and health centers may be well situated to deliver public health obesity interventions.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Obesity
KW - School health
KW - Urban
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U2 - 10.1007/s11524-009-9355-6
DO - 10.1007/s11524-009-9355-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 19472059
AN - SCOPUS:67650732435
SN - 1099-3460
VL - 86
SP - 571
EP - 583
JO - Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
JF - Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
IS - 4
ER -