Childhood Overweight in a New York City WIC Population

Objectives: We estimated the prevalence of overweight in a population of young children enrolled in a New York City Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Methods: Administrative and survey data were collected from a sample of enrolled families. Body mass index (BMI) of 557 children aged 2, 3, and 4 years was compared by sociodemographic and nutrition characteristics.

Results: Forty percent of the children were overweight or at risk for overweight (BMI >/= 85th percentile). Compared with other racial/ethnic groups combined, Hispanic children were more than twice as likely (odds ratio = 2.6; 95% confidence interval = 1.8, 3.8) to be overweight or at risk for overweight. Two-year-olds were less likely to be overweight than 3- and 4-year-olds.

Conclusions: Interventions to address childhood overweight should be culturally specific and target very young children.