Application of body mass index principles in a model elementary school: implications for overweight and obese children.

The first model elementary school in Richmond, VA formed the study site for this project. Changes in this model will lay the groundwork for changes throughout the Richmond Public School System. Of the 283 students in grades one through five, 66 students (23.3%) were randomly selected. Of the 66 students, 54 (81.8%) were black. Each student underwent height and weight measurement. Using the Nutstat module of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Epi Info software program available at no cost on the Internet, we identified Body Mass Index (BMI), BMI percentile for sex and age, and z-score for each student. Z-score measurements placed the 19 black male children at the 98.08th percentile for BMI (fewer than 2% of U.S. male children were larger). Similarly, the 35 black female children's BMI was at the 95.35th percentile (fewer than 5% of U.S. female children were larger). Based on data in the literature, the typical black male and female elementary child included in our study can expect a significant reduction in life expectancy compared with their nonobese counterparts.