Prevalence of Overweight (OW) and At Risk of Overweight (AROW) Among Chicago 3-5 Year Old Children 2002-2003

Maryann Mason, PhD, COMP Research Director; Patricia Meleedy-Rey, MPH, CLOCC Data Coordinator; Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, MD, MPH, COMP Director, Children’s Memorial Research Center

Purpose:
To obtain baseline data on child weight status for Chicago children aged 3 to 5 as means to measure progress against future years and to begin to use the data to develop a strategy for targeting resources to the populations with the most need.

Methods:
CLOCC conducted a survey of height and weight in CPS schools and Chicago Catholic schools including children 3-5 years old. Data are taken from the Certificate of Child Health Examination (CCHE) form completed by a health professional and signed by a physician prior to the start of the school year. Total number of cases included in the analysis is 1,517.

Results:
Overall, the prevalence of children with BMI percentiles at or above the 95th percentile was 24.1%, significantly higher than both the national prevalence documented at 10.3% for 2 to 5 years olds (NHANES, 1999-2002).

The prevalence of OW in these samples (24.1%) is higher than the prevalence of AROW (16%).

Discussion:
These data provide the first local prevalence data for child OW in Chicago.

Implications:
A significant proportion of young children in Chicago enter the school environment already OW. The study’s methods have provided useful experience and insight into the use of the CCHE to build a student health database for Illinois. As a result of this experience, legislation proposing the use of CCHE data was proposed and enacted into law in Illinois in 2004 (SB 2940). Such a data system has the potential to provide useful data in many areas of child health.

Funding disclosure:
This project was funded by CLOCC with funds from the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute.

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