As the prevalence of obesity continues to increase in the United States, a new report claims that Spanish-speaking children, or Hispanic children, are the most likely to suffer from obesity.
According to a report by the Endocrine Society, the Spanish language is a sole predictor of childhood obesity.
The findings were the result of an analysis from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The survey included data from 1999 to 2018 of people in early childhood to late adolescence.
Based on the analysis, the use of a language other than English could inhibit the understanding of health literacy surrounding nutrition and obesity, thus preventing efforts that support a more essential lifestyle. Additionally, the rates of obesity were more prevalent in children with lower socioeconomic status.
“The obesity rate was 23.8 percent in children from low-income households versus 11 percent for children in high-income households,” a report of the findings state. “Likewise, the prevalence of obesity was 26.2 percent in children from households with a low educational level compared with 9.4 percent from highly educated families.”
“Improved public health interventions are urgently needed to halt the rising trend of childhood obesity,” researchers stressed in the report.
The findings are expected to be presented during ENDO 2021.
