Table 3. Prevalencea of severe obesityb among public school youth in grades K-8 by school year and selected characteristics, New York City, 2011–12 to 2019–20.
| Characteristic | School Year | Relative change from 2011–12 (%) | Adjusted test for trend (p-value) | Relative change from 2016–17 (%) | Adjusted test for trend (p-value) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | |||||
| Estimate (95% CI) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 6.4 (6.2, 6.6) | 6.3 (6.1, 6.5) | 6.4 (6.3, 6.6) | 5.9 (5.8, 6.1) | 5.9 (5.8, 6.1) | 6.0 (5.8, 6.1) | 6.2 (6.0, 6.4) | 6.4 (6.2, 6.6) | 6.4 (6.1, 6.7) | -0.2 | <0.001 | 6.7 | <0.001 |
| Gender | *** | *** | |||||||||||
| Female | 5.4 (5.2, 5.6) | 5.4 (5.3, 5.6) | 5.5 (5.3, 5.7) | 5.1 (4.9, 5.3) | 5.0 (4.9, 5.2) | 5.0 (4.9, 5.2) | 5.1 (4.9, 5.3) | 5.2 (5.0, 5.4) | 5.2 (5.0, 5.5) | -3.7 | 0.74 | 4.0 | <0.001 |
| Male | 7.3 (7.1, 7.5) | 7.2 (7.0, 7.4) | 7.3 (7.1, 7.5) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 7.2 (7.0, 7.4) | 7.5 (7.3, 7.7) | 7.5 (7.2, 7.8) | 2.7 | <0.001 | 10.3 | <0.001 |
| Race/ethnicity | *** | * | |||||||||||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 2.4 (2.3, 2.6) | 2.5 (2.3, 2.6) | 2.6 (2.4, 2.8) | 2.4 (2.3, 2.6) | 2.4 (2.2, 2.6) | 2.3 (2.2, 2.5) | 2.5 (2.3, 2.7) | 2.6 (2.4, 2.7) | 2.5 (2.3, 2.7) | 4.2 | 0.979 | 8.7 | 0.014 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 7.7 (7.5, 7.9) | 7.5 (7.3, 7.8) | 7.6 (7.4, 7.8) | 7.3 (7.1, 7.5) | 7.4 (7.2, 7.6) | 7.5 (7.3, 7.7) | 7.8 (7.6, 8.0) | 8.2 (8.0, 8.5) | 8.2 (7.8, 8.5) | 6.5 | <0.001 | 9.3 | <0.001 |
| Hispanic | 8.1 (7.9, 8.3) | 8.1 (7.9, 8.3) | 8.4 (8.2, 8.6) | 7.7 (7.6, 7.9) | 7.8 (7.6, 8.0) | 7.9 (7.7, 8.1) | 8.3 (8.1, 8.5) | 8.6 (8.4, 8.8) | 8.7 (8.5, 9.0) | 7.4 | <0.001 | 10.1 | <0.001 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 3.8 (3.5, 4.1) | 3.9 (3.6, 4.1) | 3.7 (3.4, 4.0) | 3.4 (3.1, 3.6) | 3.4 (3.1, 3.7) | 3.3 (3.0, 3.5) | 3.3 (3.0, 3.5) | 3.3 (3.1, 3.6) | 3.3 (3.0, 3.7) | -13.2 | <0.001 | 2.0 | 0.123 |
| Grade type | |||||||||||||
| K-5 | 6.1 (5.9, 6.3) | 6.0 (5.8, 6.2) | 6.2 (6.0, 6.4) | 5.7 (5.5, 5.9) | 5.7 (5.5, 5.9) | 5.7 (5.5, 5.9) | 6.0 (5.7, 6.2) | 6.1 (5.9, 6.3) | 6.0 (5.7, 6.3) | -1.6 | 0.017 | 5.3 | <0.001 |
| 6–8 | 7.1 (6.7, 7.5) | 7.0 (6.6, 7.3) | 6.9 (6.6, 7.3) | 6.6 (6.3, 6.9) | 6.5 (6.2, 6.8) | 6.5 (6.2, 6.9) | 6.7 (6.3, 7.0) | 7.0 (6.6, 7.4) | 7.1 (6.6, 7.7) | 0.5 | <0.001 | 9.2 | <0.001 |
| Home-neighborhood SES | *** | ** | |||||||||||
| Very-wealthy (<10%) | 4.5 (4.2, 4.8) | 4.4 (4.1, 4.6) | 4.4 (4.2, 4.7) | 4.1 (3.8, 4.4) | 4.1 (3.8, 4.4) | 4.0 (3.8, 4.3) | 4.1 (3.9, 4.4) | 4.2 (3.9, 4.5) | 4.2 (3.8, 4.5) | -6.7 | 0.253 | 5.0 | 0.009 |
| Wealthy (10% to <20%) | 5.7 (5.5, 5.9) | 5.6 (5.4, 5.8) | 5.7 (5.5, 6.0) | 5.4 (5.2, 5.6) | 5.3 (5.1, 5.5) | 5.3 (5.1, 5.5) | 5.5 (5.2, 5.7) | 5.7 (5.4, 5.9) | 5.6 (5.3, 5.9) | -1.8 | 0.096 | 5.7 | <0.001 |
| Poor (20% to <30%) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.1) | 6.9 (6.7, 7.1) | 7.0 (6.8, 7.3) | 6.5 (6.2, 6.7) | 6.6 (6.3, 6.8) | 6.7 (6.4, 7.0) | 6.9 (6.6, 7.2) | 7.2 (6.9, 7.5) | 7.4 (7.1, 7.8) | 8.8 | <0.001 | 10.4 | <0.001 |
| Very-poor (> = 30%) | 8.1 (7.8, 8.4) | 8.0 (7.7, 8.2) | 8.1 (7.9, 8.4) | 7.5 (7.2, 7.7) | 7.6 (7.3, 7.8) | 7.6 (7.3, 7.8) | 8.0 (7.7, 8.3) | 8.4 (8.1, 8.6) | 8.4 (8.0, 8.8) | 3.7 | <0.001 | 10.5 | <0.001 |
| Place-of-birth | *** | ||||||||||||
| US-born | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 6.7 (6.5, 6.9) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 6.3 (6.1, 6.4) | 6.3 (6.1, 6.5) | 6.3 (6.1, 6.5) | 6.5 (6.3, 6.7) | 6.8 (6.5, 7.0) | 6.7 (6.4, 7.0) | -1.5 | 0.009 | 6.3 | <0.001 |
| Foreign-born | 3.8 (3.6, 4.0) | 3.9 (3.7, 4.1) | 4.0 (3.8, 4.2) | 3.8 (3.6, 4.0) | 3.8 (3.6, 3.9) | 3.9 (3.7, 4.1) | 4.0 (3.8, 4.2) | 4.3 (4.1, 4.5) | 4.5 (4.2, 4.7) | 18.4 | <0.001 | 15.4 | <0.001 |
| Language spoken at home | *** | *** | |||||||||||
| English | 6.9 (6.7, 7.1) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 6.9 (6.7, 7.1) | 6.4 (6.2, 6.6) | 6.4 (6.2, 6.6) | 6.4 (6.2, 6.6) | 6.6 (6.4, 6.8) | 6.8 (6.6, 7.0) | 6.8 (6.5, 7.1) | -1.4 | 0.025 | 6.2 | <0.001 |
| Spanish | 7.8 (7.6, 8.1) | 7.9 (7.6, 8.1) | 8.2 (7.9, 8.4) | 7.4 (7.2, 7.6) | 7.5 (7.3, 7.7) | 7.6 (7.4, 7.9) | 8.1 (7.8, 8.3) | 8.4 (8.2, 8.6) | 8.6 (8.3, 8.9) | 10.3 | <0.001 | 13.2 | <0.001 |
| Other | 2.8 (2.6, 2.9) | 2.7 (2.6, 2.9) | 2.8 (2.7, 3.0) | 2.6 (2.5, 2.8) | 2.6 (2.5, 2.8) | 2.6 (2.4, 2.7) | 2.6 (2.5, 2.8) | 2.7 (2.6, 2.9) | 2.6 (2.4, 2.8) | -7.1 | 0.327 | 2.0 | 0.248 |
Abbreviation: SES, socioeconomic status.
a Prevalence estimates were based on valid body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) measurements weighted to be representative of the entire population of public school students in grades K-8 in a given school year by race/ethnicity, school borough by Neighborhood Health Action Center (NHAC) neighborhood (neighborhoods defined by low-income and disproportionate rates of morbidity and mortality), free/reduced price meal status, grade, gender, age, and school type (elementary vs. middle). Prevalence estimates of obesity reflect the enrollment population.
b Severe obesity is defined as having a BMI at or above 120% of the 95th percentile BMI-for-sex-and-age cut-off according to the CDC’s 2000 growth charts. Students having at least one measure for height, weight, weight-for-height, or BMI that was identified as biologically implausible by the 2000 CDC growth chart Z-score and the World Health Organization’s fixed exclusion criteria were excluded from the measured population.
c To test for trends over school years, multivariate models were built that included a linear term for trend, along with gender, age, race/ethnicity, school borough by NHAC neighborhoods, free/reduced price meal status, place-of-birth, language spoken at home, and an interaction by age, gender, and race/ethnicity as covariates. Both school and student identifiers were used as cluster variables.
d Students not reporting Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, or Asian/Pacific Islander race/ethnicity in a school year are classified as “other,” which includes those reporting multiple races, parent refusal, or missing data. While a distinct racial classification, American Indian/Native Alaskan students are also grouped as “other” due to the small sample size. Although the classification of the “other” race/ethnicity category is not coherent, we use it for modeling and analysis with the aim to reduce its use. In consideration of these limitations, prevalence estimates for students classified as “other” race/ethnicity are not provided.
e Percentage of households in the students’ home census tract living below the federal poverty level (FPL) as defined by the 2010 US Census: very-wealthy (<10% of households living below FPL), wealthy (10 to <20% below FPL), poor (20% to <30% below FPL), and very-poor (≥30% below FPL).
***Relative differences across subgroups p<0.001
**p<0.01
*p<0.05.