The percentage of obese girls in the United States increased more than twice as much as the percentage of obese boys from 2003 to 2007, according to a study by researchers at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

 

The study, “Changes in State-Specific Childhood Obesity and Overweight Prevalence in the United States from 2003 to 2007,”is the first to examine changes in obesity and overweight prevalence rates on a state-by-state basis. It confirmed some previously known risk factors for obesity in children and found a relatively higher prevalence of obesity and overweight children and adolescents in the South.

 

The findings, published Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, show that while obesity prevalence among all children increased by 10% nationwide from 14.8% in 2003 to 16.4% in 2007, it increased by 18% for female children.

 

States such as Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee were in the top 20% of childhood obesity rates with prevalence exceeding 20%, while states such as Oregon and Wyoming in the Western region had the lowest obesity rates with a prevalence of about 10%. The geographic disparities in obesity prevalence increased between 2003 and 2007.

 

The numbers coincide with declining youth participation – particularly among girls – in outdoor activities, according to the most recent data from The Outdoor Foundation. Participation in outdoor recreation among boys and girls dropped in 2008 among ages 6 to 12, 13 to 17, and 18 to 24.

 

Over the past three years, youth participation among girls and boys ages 6 to 12 has decreased the sharpest, falling among girls from 77% to 58% and among boys from 79% to 69%, according to the foundation's Outdoor Recreation Participation Report 2009.