The burden of obesity has been well-documented using self-reported height and weight across a wide range of age groups in Georgia. Limited work has been done, however, to describe the prevalence of obesity among elementary school-aged children in the state. Measured height and weight data were collected from a statewide sample of 3rd grade students in Georgia as part of the 2005 Oral Health Screening. The following conclusions were made based on the study’s key findings: Childhood obesity is a severe public health problem in Georgia. The percent of children in 3rd grade who are obese is over 4 times higher than the percent expected (5%), based on a reference population; disparities in obesity were observed between socioeconomic (SES) and racial groups, disparities between SES groups were greater in boys than girls and in rural areas than other regions of the state, disparities between blacks and whites were greater in girls than boys, in high SES households than low SES households and in rural areas than other regions of the state.

Southeast Georgia Obesity Update by Rosemarie Parks, MD, MPH, Medical Director of Southeast Health District