Nearly 40 percent of all California fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders were overweight or obese in 2010, according to a report released this week by the Davis-based California Center for Public Health Advocacy and UCLA.

The findings were based on results of the 2010 California Physical Fitness Test, given to 1.2 million public school children last year, and found 38 percent of California children in those grades had a Body Mass Index above the 85th percentile.

A healthy BMI, which measures the ratio of height to weight, falls between the 5th and 85th percentile for most children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BMI figures for Yolo County mirrored the state average, with just under 37 percent of fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders measured as overweight or obese last year.

Overall numbers showed a slight decrease — 1.1 percent — from 2005, but there was wide disparity at the county level and among age groups.

The report, a project of both the CCPHA and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, found some counties had significantly fewer overweight children than the state as a whole, including Marin (25 percent), Placer (26 percent) and El Dorado (26 percent), while others reported in well above the statewide average, such as Del Norte (45 percent), Colusa (46 percent) and Imperial (47 percent).

Additionally, the report’s authors say the rate of overweight 12- to 19-year-olds has tripled since the 1970s and the rate for 6- to 11-year-olds has increased four-fold.

“Children’s health is still at risk in a significant number of counties,” said UCLA’s Susan Babey. “We found that 31 of California’s 58 counties experienced an increase in childhood overweight over the five-year period from 2005 to 2010.”

Like the state itself, Yolo County saw a slight decrease of .1 percent.

The report notes that though the “leveling off of the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents statewide is encouraging, the increased rates of obesity and overweight in many areas of the state, as well as the continuing high rates across all counties, underscore the critical need for sustained obesity prevention efforts.”

Efforts the report recommends include promoting healthy eating and physical activity, particularly through school programs, as well as efforts to reduce the marketing of junk food to children.

Failure to reduce the high rates of overweight and obesity among children, the report said, will lead to more obese adults at increased risk for chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, strokes and more. The report adds that California already spends more public and private money on the health consequences of obesity than any other state — $21 billion annually.

In 2004, California began implementing a series of reforms aimed at reducing childhood obesity, ranging from banning sugary drinks and junk food on school campuses to promoting programs that emphasize healthy food choices and physical activity, and those efforts may have helped, said Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

“California led the nation in establishing many of the most innovative programs and policies that are improving our children’s chances for a healthier life,” he said. “Increased awareness and a growing array of school and community policies and programs are beginning to have an impact.

“But in light of the huge number of counties where childhood obesity rates continue to climb,” he said, “our efforts must continue and even expand, especially in those areas where we now know children are most at risk.”

The full report, “A Patchwork of Progress: Changes in Overweight and Obesity Among California 5th, 7th and 9th Graders, 2005-2010,” can be found at www.publichealthadvocacy.org.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at [email protected] or (530) 747-8051.

healthy2W

Physical activity, like P.E. classes and school sports, is an important factor in promoting good health among youths and teenagers. BigStock photo

healthy1W

Healthy food choices, such as an apple instead of candy, are key to reducing childhood obesity, according to a report released this week by the Davis-based California Center for Public Health Advocacy and UCLA. BigStock photo

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