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Posted on Tue, Aug 18, 2009 : 6:02 a.m.

University of Michigan poll: Obesity is the top childhood health concern

By Tina Reed

A University of Michigan-conducted health poll found blacks, Hispanics and whites seem to agree obesity is the top health problem among kids in the U.S.

More than two in five said childhood obesity was the greatest child health concern, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

Drug abuse, and smoking and tobacco-use also topped the overall list of health concerns for kids.

When broken into concerns held by adults in different racial groups, smoking and teen pregnancy were among the top children’s health concerns for black adults. Bullying and child abuse or neglect were top concerns among Hispanics.

White adults were most concerned about drug abuse and Internet safety among children.

“We can determine what the American public thinks are the biggest health problems for children to create a set of priorities,” said Matthew Davis, researcher and associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine. 

Health concerns and priorities are different for children than they are for adults and should determine where the most health care research dollars are spent, he said.

“This top ten list is really designed to get people talking about what’s important.”

Kids in unsafe neighborhoods at greater risk

In another U-M study released Monday, researchers reported kids living in unsafe neighborhoods were at greater risk of being obese.

Kids in those neighborhoods are often kept from outdoor activities by their parents, leading to more sedentary lifestyles, researchers said.

About 15 percent of children were overweight and another 15 percent were at risk of becoming overweight, according to the study to be published in the August issue of Health and Social Work.

Nearly 17 percent of children in unsafe area were overweight, compared to 14 percent in other areas. Children in unsafe areas watched about 1.2 hours more of television every day.

The study used height and weight measurements, neighborhood safety and time spent watching television - as collected from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth - of nearly 5,900 children and young adults between the ages of 5 and 20.

Comments

Technojunkie

Tue, Aug 18, 2009 : 10:34 a.m.

Easy fix: minimize use of refined sugar and eliminate artificial food additives. The reduction in behavior problems caused by petrochemical food additives would increase security. Such a solution would be harmful to the sale of prescription drugs though, Ritalin and what not, so don't expect much action on this.