Abstract

The study assessed the effects of various state obesity programs, including obesity-related school standards, obesity-related program options, and obesity-related state initiatives, and was incorporated into the context of a behavioral model using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System by the C.D.C. The implementation of state obesity programs is likely to reduce childhood obesity. State enforcement of health education in schools is the most effective program option in obesity-related school standards. For obesity-related state program options, the dominant program is associated with private insurance coverage for obesity treatment and prevention. The obesity-related state programs are better targeted towards obese Hispanic and African American children than obese white children.

The obesity burden is concentrated more heavily in white children who live in states with fewer obesity-related state programs than Hispanic and African American children. Unlike African American children, obese Hispanic and white children are more evenly spread throughout income levels. Sports activities, exercises, and T.V./video watching are strongly associated with children at risk of obesity. The effects of after-school sports activities on obese and overweight children are about four times larger than those of unstructured physical exercises. T.V./video watching hours demonstrated that an increase in one hour per day of watching T.V./video on a school day would increase obesity in children by 4.1% (aged 6-12 years old) and 7.3% (aged 13-17 years old). An important contribution to the literature is the finding that state health education enforcement is a prime and effective tool that will guide the scale and scope of the local obesity epidemic of school children. Obesity-related state programs are more effective for African American and His-panic children than white children.

Keywords:Childhood obesity prevention; Obesity programs; USA