A new study has found that childhood obesity is still rising. Published in the March 2018 issue of Pediatrics, the research is in contrast to recent reports that have suggested that obesity among youth has recently plateaued or even decreased. The researchers also found that rates of obesity among Hispanic and black children continue to be significantly greater than that of their white and Asian counterparts.
Obesity during childhood increases the child’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes, among a litany of other serious physiological, psychological, and social consequences. Children who have obesity are more likely to become adults with obesity -- and the health risks continue and become more severe as they enter adulthood.
As a largely mobile poor population, agricultural worker children encounter many of the same health barriers as their parents, including linguistic and cultural differences, food insecurity, fewer opportunities or safe and accessible spaces for physical activity, exposures to pesticides, high levels of stress, and fewer health resources or access to health care. Additionally, low-income children are disproportionately exposed to advertising for fast food, sugary drinks, and other unhealthy products and habits. A recent review of literature found that estimates ranged from 15 to 37 percent of agricultural worker children have obesity.
Programs at school-based health centers (SBHCs) are another promising practice. SBHCs are ideal locations to provide medical management, offer ongoing support, and monitor progress over time, as students are more accessible for follow-ups or monitoring visits and peer groups are more easily formed and maintained. SBHCs are situated in predominantly low-income communities, where families struggle to access health care, serving populations that are at higher risk for obesity and related conditions like diabetes. The School-Based Health Alliance is offering a presentation on how telehealth can be integrated into SBHCs at their June convention. Learn more about SBHA’s convention and access resources at: http://www.sbh4all.org/.
In 2016, the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research evaluated numerous programs offered by health centers to determine best practices and effective strategies in addressing childhood obesity. Their white paper, “Evaluating Community-Clinical Engagement to Address Childhood Obesity: Implications, and Recommendations for the Field,” is available on their website at https://goo.gl/JJvBMM. NCCOR has numerous toolkits and resources for health centers at https://www.nccor.org/nccor-tools/.
The material presented in this portion of Streamline is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under cooperative agreement number U30CS09742, Technical Assistance to Community and Migrant Health Centers and Homeless for $1,094,709.00 with 0% of the total NCA project financed with non-federal sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
Read this article in the Summer 2018 issue of Streamline here!
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