Youth obesity risk called highest among Latinos

CHICAGO -- US Latino youngsters are more likely to become obese by age 3 than black or white children, for reasons that cannot be explained by factors such as income and maternal education, a study said yesterday.

The report from Mathematica Policy Research Inc., of Princeton, N.J., was based on a review of 2,452 children born in 75 US hospitals and who had reached the age of 3 from 2001 to 2003.

It found that about 18 percent of all of the children were obese by that age, but that the rate among Hispanics was more than 25 percent compared with 16 percent of black children and more than 14 percent of whites.

The disparity remained even after researchers accounted for socioeconomic factors such as household income, the mother's education level, and whether the children had regular access to food, according to the study.

The obesity levels were determined by measuring body mass index during in-home visits, said the report, published in the current issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Body mass index is calculated by dividing weight by the square of height.

Children who had figures at the 95th percentile or higher for their age and sex were considered obese.

``This disparity in obesity between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children seems to develop early in life, so future research . . . should focus on the period from conception to school entry," the report concluded.

The prevalence of obesity has doubled in the past 25 years in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 60 percent of the US population is overweight or obese, with one in three obese.

A US government study released in 2004 found among adults the highest level of obesity was among non-Hispanic black women followed by Mexican-American women and non-Hispanic white women.

There was little difference in obesity levels among men based on race or ethnicity.