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Prevalence of Elevated Body Mass Index and Blood Pressure in a Rural School‐Aged Population: Implications for School Nurses
Author(s) -
King Carol Ann,
Meadows Beth Bender,
Engelke Martha Keehner,
Swanson Melvin
Publication year - 2006
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.1746-1561.2006.00083.x
Subject(s) - overweight , body mass index , medicine , percentile , demography , ethnic group , obesity , gerontology , population , blood pressure , national health and nutrition examination survey , pediatrics , environmental health , statistics , mathematics , sociology , anthropology
The growing prevalence of overweight in students and adolescents has become a matter of national concern and is linked to a rise in chronic health conditions in students who previously had low prevalence rates, such as cardiovascular disease. This study examined the relationships between age, ethnicity, race, body mass index (BMI), and elevated blood pressure (BP) in a rural school age population. Data are reported for 1121 students in grades K‐11. The sample was 55% African American, 41% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, and 1% other. The prevalence of students at risk of being overweight (BMI ≥85th percentile) was 46.5%, and the prevalence of overweight students (BMI ≥95th percentile) was 29.1%. The prevalence of elevated BP was 21.6%. Elevated BMI and BP were more prevalent in older students. While there was a direct relationship between elevated BMI and elevated BP for all groups, African Americans were more likely to have an elevated BP with a normal BMI. These findings demonstrate the important role of the school nurse in providing effective prevention strategies related to screening, follow‐up, and treatment. (J Sch Health. 2006;76(4):145–149)