Substantial declines in physical activity occur during adolescence in girls and are greater in black girls than in white girls. Some determinants of this decline, such as higher body-mass index, pregnancy, and smoking, may be modifiable.

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ABSTRACT. Background. Black women are particularly vulnerable to obesity, with a prevalence rate of >50%. The higher mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes have been attributed, in part, to their obesity. In recent years, a particular public health concern is the increasing secular trend in obesity with an even greater racial disparity, especially in girls and women. Between the early 1960s and late 1980s, the prevalence of obesity tripled in young black girls 6 to 11 years of age, while it doubled in white girls. Similarly, both overweight and obesity in adolescent girls 12 to 17 years of age also increased, with a greater increase again seen in adolescent black girls. This secular trend in obesity with a greater increase in black girls signals a potentially grave future chronic disease burden on black women, which is already higher than in white women. The increasing occurrence in children and adolescents of noninsulin-dependent diabetes, traditionally viewed as an adult-onset condition, may be a consequence of the currently high prevalence of obesity in American youth. Not surprisingly, this condition is seen more frequently among black youths.Prepubescent black girls are generally leaner than agecomparable white girls, but by 20 years of age, black women are considerably heavier than are white women. Thus, it is assumed that the racial disparity in adiposity evolves during adolescence. However, the specific age at which this occurs and underlying factors are yet to be identified because of the current paucity of longitudinal cohort data.Objectives. In 1985, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) initiated a 10-year longitudinal multicenter study (the NHLBI Growth and Health Study [NGHS]) to investigate the development of obesity in black and white girls during adolescence and its environmental, psychosocial, and cardiovascular disease risk factor correlates. The purpose of this report is to examine the natural history of adiposity and weight accretion during adolescence in a biracial cohort of girls to investigate the evolution of the racial divergence in adiposity and to examine the relationships between increases in adiposity and pubertal maturation, energy intake, and physical activity.Participants and Setting. A total of 2379 black (51%) and white (49%) girls, 9 to 10 years of age, were recruited from public and parochial schools in Richmond, California, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and from families enrolled in a large health maintenance organization in the Washington, DC area. Participant eligibility was limited to girls and their parents who declared themselves as being either black or white and who lived in racially concordant households.Design and Statistical Analysis. The NGHS is a multicenter prospective study of black and white girls with annual visits from 9 to 10 years of age through 18 to 19 years of age. The follow-up rate was 89% at the 10th annual visit. Skinfold measurements were obtained at the triceps, suprailiac, and subscapular sites with Holt...

ABSTRACT. Objective. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS) is a 10-year study to investigate the development of obesity in black and white girls during adolescence and its environmental and psychosocial correlates. The purpose of this report was to examine changes in the annual prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in the NGHS cohort from ages 9 to 19 years.Participants and Setting. A total of 2379 black and white girls, aged 9 to 10 years, were recruited from schools in Richmond, California, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and from families enrolled in a health maintenance organization in the Washington, DC area. Participant eligibility was limited to girls and their parents who declared themselves as being either black or white and who lived in racially concordant households.Design and Statistical Analysis. The NGHS is a multicenter prospective study of a biracial cohort followed annually from ages 9 to 10 years through 18 to 19 years. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was based on age-specific >85th and >95th percentile values, respectively, for body mass index based on the 1960 -1965 National Health Examination Survey reference population.Main Outcome Measures. The main outcome measures were body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by height in meters, squared) and proportions of girls who were "overweight" and "obese" by age and race.Results. The prevalence of overweight was 37% higher in blacks as compared with whites (30.6% vs 22.4%) even by age 9. The rate of overweight almost doubled in both groups during the 10-year period. By age 19, the rate of overweight was 56.9% in black and 41.3%, in white girls. The prevalence of obesity was 17.7% in black and 7.7% in white girls at 9 years old, and the rates also doubled during the study period.Conclusions. The doubling in the prevalence of overweight and obesity during adolescence in black and white NGHS girls was surprising. By age 19, more than half of black girls were overweight and more than one third were obese. Almost half of white girls were overweight and almost 1 of 5 girls were obese. These findings should sound an alarm for all primary care physicians and public health professionals to take heed of what is happening to our youth. Pediatrics 2002;110(5). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/110/5/e54; race, adolescence, body mass index, obesity, overweight, prevalence rates, females.ABBREVIATIONS. NGHS, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study; HMO, health maintenance organization; BMI, body mass index; NHES, National Health Examination Survey; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.T he prevalence of childhood obesity has been increasing in recent years with a greater increase in minority population groups. [1][2][3][4][5][6] In the early 1960s, the prevalence of overweight was lower in black girls than in whites, 5 but because of racial differences in the secular trend, the prevalence of obesity in black girls is now twice greater than in white girls ...

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