Original articleCardiovascular Risk Factors in Chinese American Children: Associations between Overweight, Acculturation, and Physical Activity
Section snippets
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore factors associated with an increased CVD risk (increased BP, cholesterol, LDLs, and triglycerides and decreased HDLs) and BMI in Chinese American children. The children in the study performed a simple physical fitness test and completed standardized questionnaires related to their activity level and dietary intake. The mothers completed questionnaires regarding their family history of CVD and level of acculturation.
Upon approval from the
Results
The average BMI was 18 kg/m2 (SD = 3.7) for children, 23.1 kg/m2 (SD = 4.1) for mothers, and 24.8 kg/m2 (SD = 4.2) for fathers. We found that 4.6% of children were underweight (n = 3), as their BMI was below 5th percentile based on CDC growth charts (CDC, 2000); 58.5% of children (n = 38) were normal weight (BMI between 5th and 84th percentile); and 36.9% (n = 24) were overweight (BMI above 85th percentile). Of the overweight children, 62.5% were boys (n = 15) and 37.5% were girls (n = 9).
Discussion
When compared with national data collected in 2004, our data indicated a similar overweight prevalence in Chinese American children. Childhood obesity has affected children of all ethnic groups in the United States, as demonstrated in Figure 1. Because Chinese Americans are the fastest-growing Asian population in the United States, it is important for health care providers and researchers to investigate risk factors for being overweight in this group to prevent health issues related to being
Jyu-Lin Chen is Assistant Professor, Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California–San Francisco.
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Jyu-Lin Chen is Assistant Professor, Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California–San Francisco.
Yuaner Wu is a Doctoral Student, Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California–San Francisco.
This study was supported by a University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing research grant and NIH roadmap (K12 HD049077).