Study: Hispanics, Minorities More Likely to Gain Weight in Childhood

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Hispanics, blacks, and American Indians were more likely to surpass a normal weight by age 18 than whites were, which increases their risk of adult obesity, according to a new study, HealthDay reports.

The study, unveiled at an American Heart Association meeting March 5, examined 31,000 adults.

The study found that, among those ages 18-30, those most likely to move from a normal-weight category to overweight or obese categories were American Indian males and females, Hispanic males and black females.

The number of Hispanic males with normal weight decreased by 5.6% a year.

The authors cited an “obesogenic” environment, low-income status, cultural factors, and genetics (to a lesser extent) as reasons for the disparities.

They named eating as a family, limiting high-sugar and high-fat snacks, and enhancing physical activity as strategies to combat the problem.

It will take action on many fronts.

“Health care professionals, dietitians, school systems, churches and the government, to some extent, can all get involved, but it starts in the home,” Dr. Robert Eckel, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, told HealthDay. “We need to start at an early age, before puberty, in terms of prevention.”