Table 2. Prevalencea of Severe Obesityb Among Public School Children Aged 5 to 14 Years in Kindergarten Through 8th Grade by School Year and Selected Characteristics, New York City, School Years 2006–07 through 2010–11.
| Characteristic | School Year, % |
Relative Decrease from 2006–07 (%) | Adjusted Test For Trendc, P Value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | ||||
| Total | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 9.5 | <.001 | |
| Sex | ||||||||
| Female | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 10.9 | <.001 | |
| Male | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 11.1 | <.001 | |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 14.8 | <.001 | |
| Hispanic | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | <.001 | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.8 | .001 | |
| Non-Hispanic white | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 17.8 | <.001 | |
| Age group, y | ||||||||
| 5–6 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 14.0 | <.001 | |
| 7–10 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 11.8 | .04 | |
| 11–14 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 7.1 | <.001 | |
| Meal status | ||||||||
| No free meals | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 20.0 | <.001 | |
| Free meals | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 5.8 | <.001 | |
| School neighborhood’s SESd | ||||||||
| Very wealthy (<10%) | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 18.4 | <.001 | |
| Wealthy (10% to 20%) | 5.5 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 7.3 | <.001 | |
| Poor (20% to <30%) | 6.6 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 12.1 | .001 | |
| Very poor (≥30%) | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.2 | 7.7 | .084 | |
Abbreviation: SES: Socioeconomic status.
Prevalence estimates were based on valid body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) measurements weighted to be representative of the enrollment population for each year by race/ethnicity, school borough by district public health office (DPHO) neighborhood (neighborhoods defined by low-income and disproportionate rates of morbidity and mortality), free-meal status, grade, sex, age, and school type (elementary vs middle). Prevalence estimates of severe obesity reflect the enrollment population.
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 (20,22). 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 (17) and the World Health Organization’s fixed exclusion criteria (18) were excluded from the measured population.
To test for trend over school years, a multivariate model was built that included a linear term for trend, along with sex, age, race/ethnicity, school borough by DPHO neighborhoods, free-meal status, place of birth, language spoken at home, and an interaction by age, sex, and race/ethnicity as covariates. Both school and student codes were used as cluster variables.
Percentage of residents in the school’s postal zip code living below the federal poverty threshold (FPT) as defined by the 2000 US Census: very wealthy (<10% of residents living below FPT), wealthy (10 to <20% below FPT), poor (20% to <30% below FPT), and very poor (≥30% below FPT) (26).