Weight status of American Indian and white elementary school students living in the same rural environment, Oklahoma, 2005-2009.

Introduction: Studies have assessed rates of childhood obesity in diverse populations, but few have been able to compare the weight status of American Indian and white children living in the same community and attending the same schools. The objective of this study was to measure and compare the weight status of American Indian and white elementary school students (kindergarten through 5th grade) from 2005 through 2009 in an Oklahoma school district.

Methods: We assessed height, weight, age, and sex to calculate body mass index, body mass percentile, and categorical weight status of students, based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 Growth Charts.

The Healthy Adults Project in rural Oklahoma.

Context: Screening to identify individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease is sorely needed in rural areas of Oklahoma.

Objective: The Healthy Adults Project was started as a screening program for public school employees in a rural school district in southwest Oklahoma.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The screening project is a collaborative effort between the Anadarko Public School district and the University of Oklahoma Prevention Research Center.

Overweight and obesity in an ethnically diverse rural school district: the Healthy Kids Project.

Objective: Data on Native American children and adolescents are rarely reported along with other racial and ethnic groups. The Healthy Kids Project is part of an effort to describe the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a racially mixed rural area where Native American, Hispanic, African American, and white children reside.

Methods And Procedures: We measured height and weight of students in Anadarko, Oklahoma public schools (n = 1,980) in 2002-2003.

Body mass index and blood pressure screening in a rural public school system: the Healthy Kids Project.

Introduction: All students (N = 2053) in Anadarko public schools, grades kindergarten through 12, were invited to be screened for height, weight, and blood pressure to assess the health status of this multiracial, multiethnic (American Indian, white, African American, and Hispanic) population in southwestern Oklahoma.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2000 growth charts were used to determine body mass index (BMI) percentiles, and standards from the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on Hypertension Control in Children and Adolescents were used to assess blood pressure.

Results: Seven hundred sixty-nine students with active consent participated in the screening.