Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity in Latino Children is defined as:

1. Overweight children – are children with a “Body mass index (BMI) between the 85th and 95th percentile”(Basics of childhood obesity, 2012, para.1) for children of the same sex and age.
2.  Obesity in children- are children with a body mass index greater than the 94th percentile for children who are the same sex and age. (Basics of childhood obesity, 2012).
3. Body Mass Index is used to determine body fatness by a formula that uses height and weight. Children weight status is “Determined using an age- and sex specific percentile for BMI because childen’s body body composition varies as they age  and varies between boys and girls” (Basic of childhood obesity,2012).

A growth  chart is “used to determine corresponding BMI for age and sex percentile for children between 2 and 19 years old” (Basic of childhood obesity, 2012).

Diet is a key contributor to disparities in many chronic diseases and conditions. In order to decrease the health disparities among the Latino children  we need to learn  how diet and nutrition can contribute to these disparities.  Diet related  disparities  are defined as “differences in dietary intake, behavior, and patterns in populations resulting in inferior health quality.”(Satia,2009)

The lack of healthy  diet  choices amongst   the Latino families increases the chances of the children developing obesity in early childhood, leading to cardiovascular disease, diabetes  and metabolic syndromes that would increase the risk for mortality and morbidity in these population.

“Ensure community-based obesity prevention and control strategies are culturally and linguistically appropriate and use sustained and comprehensive interventions to maximize effectiveness. Policy solutions must consider and target the variety of factors that impact an individual's environment. Efforts must be culturally competent and include English- and Spanish-language communications campaigns and delivery of social services that use respected, trusted messengers and appropriate channels.”(state of obesity, 2014)