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Height/Weight Disproportion in Elementary School Children
Author(s) -
Humphrey Patricia
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1979.tb05273.x
Subject(s) - psychology , primary education , school health , mathematics education , developmental psychology , medicine , pediatrics , medical education
This paper discusses the importance of studying physical growth patterns in children and presents the results of a survey of height and weight measurements collected on 1,953 children ages 5–11 from 12 schools in a city in the southeastern United States. Approximately 40% of the sample children had height/weight disproportion. Twenty‐seven percent of the sample children weighed more than normal for their height. Physical and psychological consequences of childhood obesity are discussed as a basis for intervention with children. The investigators believe that the problems of elevated weight in childhood merits a great deal more study so that groups at risk can be predicted and more effective treatment programs developed. For persons who are overweight, control of weight requires a change in behavior which is essentially an educational process; therefore, it would appear appropriate to have such programs placed within the school setting.