The Prevalence and Incidence of Obesity in a Cross-Section of Elementary and Secondary School Children

A study of the incidence and prevalence of overweight among school children in two communities within the greater Boston area was conducted, using school records as source of information and the Wetzel Grid as basis for definition of overweight. The data demonstrated that, with the criteria used, more than 10 per cent of the children in this area are “overweight.” From the point of view of development, two types were found to be most common: “persistent obesity,” present throughout the school record, which comprised a third of the overweight girls and almost half of the overweight boys; “late obesity,” present during the latter half of the record, which comprised 12 per cent of the overweight girls and over a third of the overweight boys. By and large, onset of overweight took place during the winter months, which may be taken as emphasizing the importance of inactivity in the etiology of many cases of obesity.