Texas children are among the fattest in America, with black and Hispanic youngsters at the highest risk for being overweight.

Those are among the findings of a major study called SPAN (School Physical Activity and Nutrition) at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston that made news all over America in Spring 2004.

According to the study, published in the June 2004 issue of American Journal of Public Health, one in five Texas fourth-graders is overweight, a rate nearly 50 percent higher than the national figure for a similar age group. Some 30 percent of Hispanic boys in fourth, eighth and 11th grades are overweight, as were black fourth-grade girls.

"Being overweight is a health risk for children," points out Deanna M. Hoelscher, the study's lead author. "We're going to see an increase in chronic disease unless this problem is addressed. Once you put on weight it's harder
to get it off, and if you're obese as a child you're more likely to be obese as an adult."

In addition to the health risks, overweight children who become overweight adults will bur- den the state's health care system and lead to a less productive work force.

Researchers collected data from more than 6,000 students in 132 schools across Texas between 1999 and 2001. The study is one of the first to gather statewide data based on measured height and weight of elementary and secondary students.

Funding came from the Texas Department of State Health Services, as well as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Our hope," says Hoelscher, "is that once we get CATCH in the majority of Texas schools, we can go in and repeat this study (SPAN) and see a change in child obesity, especially at the elementary school level."