Running head: CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

PPE 310: Health Literacy for Schools

Correlation of Childhood and Adult Obesity
Signature Assignment
Gabriela Rivera
Course # 79453
Dr. Miller
29 November 2015

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

Introduction
Childhood obesity is on the rise and is considered a major health crisis in the United
States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six children
and adolescents are affected by obesity (2015). As a result, health experts are concerned about
the potential impact that this premature onset of obesity can have on the children as they grow
older. A copious amount of research has been conducted to determine the correlation between
childhood and adult obesity, as well as to develop proper intervention measures to help combat
the issue. The data compiled from these studies revealed that an increase in health education for
children, their families and communities would lead to better prevention practices and a healthier
future. After carefully analyzing and combining said research, the dynamic health initiative titled
Keep it Moving! was developed in hopes of benefiting the staff and students at Trevor G.
Browne High School, along with its surrounding communities. Through this imperative health
movement, the school would begin to implement physical activities in the classroom, as well as
host an annual health and fitness fair for the community and a school-wide health club on
campus that would serve as a support system for everyone involved. With concepts like these,
students are given the knowledge to lead healthier and more prosperous lives into adulthood.
Review of Current Literature
There is a major concern over the escalating rates of obesity in children, and a concern as
to whether it impacts their future as adults. Multiple longitudinal studies have been conducted to
determine if there is a direct correlation between childhood and adult obesity. In 1987, a research
study was done by Darren Allcock, Michael Gardner, and James Sowers that sought to determine
if any correlation was present. The study followed 164 individuals from one month of age until

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

twenty-one years of age. They tracked the body mass index (BMI) of said individuals. Their
prediction was that childhood obesity would indeed track into their adulthood (Allcock, Gardner,
& Sowers, 2009). Prior to conducting their observations, they considered that a lean BMI
consisted of anything lower than the 25th percentile, based on age and gender, while anything
greater than the 75th percentile would be considered fat (Allcock, Gardner, & Sowers, 2009). As
they tracked the height and weight of these individuals over time, they found that there was
indeed a positive correlation between the two. At the age of 21, 41% of the individuals that were
initially considered lean at age one were still in the lean category, while 41% of the infants that
were considered fat were still in the fat category (Allcock, Gardner, & Sowers, 2009). Therefore,
this study supports the notion that obesity in early childhood can continue to affect an individual
later in life.
Moreover, researchers Anthea Magarey, Lynne Daniels, TJ Boulton and R. A. Cockington
also sought to track adiposity rates from childhood to early adulthood in order to determine
whether overweight children were at a higher risk of remaining overweight into their early
adulthood, as well (2003). For this research, the parents weight status was also measured in
conjunction to the children in order to see if that affected anything. The study was conducted in
Adelaide, South Australia on approximately 155 healthy male and female children and their
parents (Magarey, Daniels, Boulton, & Cockington, 2003). The height and weight was tracked
when they were two years of age, annually from 4 to 8 years of age, biennially from 11 to 15
years of age and at 20 years of age (2003). The parents, on the other hand, were only reviewed
when the child was eight. Upon concluding the study, it was found that the prevalence of obesity
increased with age and that parental BMI also carried a positive correlation between childhood
and adult obesity. This indicated that an early detection of a high BMI, especially around the age

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

of 6, would be a good indicator of later BMI. Therefore, intervention in school-aged children

would be the most effective way to combat obesity. Interestingly enough, the study also
demonstrated that an overweight mother doubled the childs risk of also being overweight
compared to a mother with an acceptable weight, while the fathers weight did not necessarily
affect the outcome. This led researchers to believe that mothers play a prominent role in the
intervention process, as well.
Furthermore, Mary Serdula, Donna Ivery, R.J Coates, David Freedman, David
Williamson, and Ted Beyers also conducted another longitudinal study that followed children
between the ages of five to fourteen. They routinely assessed their height and weight to
determine the BMI, as well as measured skin thickness to determine adiposity rates over a twenty
year period. Once the observations were complete, they concluded that about a third of obese
preschool children proved to be obese adults, while about half of obese school-age children also
grew up to be obese adults (Serdula, Ivery, Coates, Freedman, Williamson, and Beyers, 1993).
This further correlates with previous research that there is a positive correlation between the two.
By the same token, another extensive research study was conducted in 1985 by Alison
Venn, Russell Thomson, Michael Schmidt, Verity Cleland, Beverley Curry, Hanni Gennat and
Terence Dwyer who were able to track 4,571 children ranging from the ages of seven to fifteen
for twenty years (1993). The study was concluded in 2005, where the subjects ranged from
twenty seven through thirty-five years of age. Both height and weight were initially taken and
later self-reported at follow-up time. The initial height measurements were taken while barefoot
using a KaWe measuring tape, while weight was taken by a beam scale; the accuracy of the selfreported data was revised for 1,185 of the participants, so there may be discrepancies in this
study (Venn, Thomson, Schmidt, Cleland, Curry, Gennat, & Dwyer, 2007). However, the

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

findings also revealed that there was a significantly higher risk of becoming an obese adult for
those who had been obese as children compared to those of a healthy weight. It is also worthy to
note that a portion of these obese adults were not necessarily obese as children. This tells
researchers that while childhood obesity is a strong predictor for adult obesity, it is not
necessarily always the only indicator since healthy children can be affected too.
Lastly, seeing that every study thus far has reached a similar conclusion, it is reasonable
to claim that children who are obese will likely continue to be affected by it until their adult
years. However, each study did make it a point to suggest that proper intervention techniques for
school-age children can help reduce these risks drastically because prevention is key to reducing
obesity rates. With that said, another study done by Paula Watson, Lindsey Dugdill, Katie
Pickering, Stephanie Bostock, Jackie Hargreaves, Leanne Staniford and Nigel Cable was
conducted on children and their parents using three key preventative strategies. The program,
titled GOALS, aimed to determine whether intervention was more effective with parental
involvement. The program was open to overweight children and adolescents between the ages of
four to sixteen and their families. There was a total of one hundred and twenty five families
participating with the GOALS program between September 2006 and March 2009 (Watson,
Dugdill, Pickering, Bostock, Hargreaves, Staniford, and Cable, 2011). The programs focused on
making gradual, but sustainable changes to the physical activity and eating behaviors of the
participants. There were eighteen intervention sessions that consisted of 2 hour weekly sessions
focused on diet, physical activity and overall behavior change. In terms of diet, the families were
taught practical cooking recipes and techniques to help them learn how to prepare healthy,
balanced meals. As far as exercise was concerned, families were taught to do weekly fun-based
physical activities together, with an emphasis on goal achievement and positive reinforcement.

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

BMI measurements were used to track progress and were done preoperatively, postoperatively
and after a twelve month follow-up (Watson, Dugdill, Pickering, Bostock, Hargreaves, Staniford,
and Cable, 2011). Upon completion of the study, it was determined that households with parents
who had managed to obtain a lower BMI helped their children also lower their BMI, while those
with a stagnant BMI also shared the same stagnant results with their children. Therefore, making
it clear that parental influence plays a vital role in the effectiveness of the intervention. As a
result, it is crucial for parents to be aware of their highly significant roles in the process.
Synthesis of Current Literature
Upon reviewing all of the research studies, it is safe to conclude that obesity, for the most
part, does track into adulthood. The data that was collected clearly revealed that the body mass
index (BMI) present in early childhood could serve as a fairly strong indicator of what the BMI
would be into adulthood (Allcock, Gardner, & Sowers, 2009). This correlation can be attributed
to multiple factors since obesity is such a complex condition, however, most of the research
indicated that it was likely the effects of poor dieting habits, a lack of physical activity and
constant sedentary behaviors, such as watching television or playing video games (Allcock,
Gardner, & Sowers, 2009). Luckily, this direct correlation, in most cases, could be avoided
altogether with the proper prevention or intervention therapies.
In like manner, research revealed that these strategies were necessary across various domains
since children are heavily influenced by their families, cultures, and communities (Venn,
Thomson, Schmidt, Cleland, Curry, Gennat, & Dwyer, 2007). Therefore, it is essential to target
the entire household and community in order to increase its effectiveness. More specifically, in
the research done by Watson, Dugdill, Pickering, Bostock, Hargreaves, Staniford and Cable, it is
worthy to note that parents played the biggest role in the long-term success of these interventions

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

(2011). This was due to the fact that familial role-modelling could essentially promote the best,
long-term change; therefore, a strong parental support system should be the key focus whenever
possible. Likewise, data by Serdula, Ivery, Coates, Freedman, Williamson and Byers emphasized
how children who underwent these types of therapies at an early age could also expect higher
success rates (1993).
Moreover, research also revealed that successful programs consisted of more education on
proper dieting practices, the implementation of roughly 60 minutes of moderate to rigorous daily
physical activity, the teaching of self-monitoring and goal setting, as well as a strong support
system from family members, peers and the community (Gurnani, M., Birken, C., & Hamilton,
J., 2015). When properly implemented, these strategies could drastically reduce the risk of
carrying obesity into adulthood. As a result, there is less risk of major health concerns such as
diabetes, high blood pressure, debilitating heart conditions, cancer or other life-threatening
condition (Deckelbaum, Richard, and Christine Williams). Overall, the major point that most
researchers wanted to make was that health improvements far outweighed the heavy focus on
weight loss, since the goal is ultimately to a lead healthier lifestyle (Gurnani, M., Birken, C., &
Hamilton, J., 2015). As part of the health campaign on campus called Keep it Moving!, all of
these goals would be taken into consideration and incorporated in order to make a real difference
for the students.
Practical Implications
Educational Components
In an effort to reduce the risk of adult obesity for students, the health initiative Keep it
Moving! would be launched at the high school level in order to promote timely intervention and
prevention strategies as suggested by research. The overall goal of this health initiative is to help

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

educate students, their families and their surrounding communities on the importance of proper
nutritional intake, as well as the benefits of rigorous, routine exercise.
In hopes of obtaining participation from all of the students, a key component of the
Keep it Moving! initiative would require for the entire school to participate in scheduled
physical activity breaks at least twice a day. These scheduled activities would be mandatory and
would last roughly five minutes. One activity, for instance, would be conducted at the very start
of the day during first hour class where students would partake in an energizer activity, and then
another one would be scheduled in the class right after lunch, to help promote better digestion.
Additionally, the teachers would also be asked to incorporate at least one mini-health lesson a
month into their classrooms. These ongoing health education lessons and daily exposure to
physical activities in the classroom would hopefully foster better, healthier habits in the students.
Furthermore, the proposal would also include the development of a school-wide health
club on campus and the hosting of an annual health and fitness fair for the community. These two
components to the proposal are also pertinent because countless research suggests that the
success of these programs can be immensely attributed to familial and community involvement,
as well.
Administration
It would take an immense effort by the faculty and students to help kick-start the Keep it
Moving! campaign; however, by presenting the compelling research found on the direct
correlation between childhood and adult obesity, I am confident that the school administration
would be accepting of this school-wide proposal. If all of its components are successfully
implemented, the Keep it Moving! initiative would not only benefit those directly involved
with the school, but it would also create a change in the entire community. Therefore, we would

CORRELATION OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY

also seek out the support and active participation of community leaders and other health
organizations, as well.
Student Engagement
Keep it Moving! will engage every student on campus with its daily implementation of
physical activities and monthly health lessons in the classroom. For additional involvement,
Students also have the chance to join the health and fitness club on campus. The club will meet
every Friday to help its members develop and carry out their own fitness and nutritional goals.
The idea will be to provide students with guidance and a strong support system. While they are
in the club, they will learn how to track the nutritional value of their meals with the use of
choosemyplate.org, as well as learn easy, healthy recipes to help improve their dieting. In
addition, they will learn how to establish and track a manageable exercise routine, as well as
participate in physical activities within the club. Based on the needs of its members, for instance,
the club can make after-school plans to host a Zumba or yoga session, plan a mile run or partake
in any physical activity every time it meets.
Moreover, the health club would also be involved in the development of the annual health
and fitness fair for the community. The event would be hosted on campus and would be a day
filled with planned activities for the entire family centered on health and fitness education. All
students and their families would be invited to attend. The event would consist of fun,
challenging obstacle courses, Zumba sessions, healthy cooking classes and a salad making
competition. The goal would be to involve and engage all students and their families.
Cost of the Project and Funding
Creating a Keep it Moving! health club on campus would require funding just like any
other club on campus. The costs would depend on the number of members that joined and the

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type of activities that the students wanted to do. For instance, if they plan on completing a series
of physical activities after school, then they would need money for water bottles, healthy snacks
and things of that nature. If we assume that it costs five dollars a month to supply each member
with these type of supplies, then a bulk trip to Costco for forty members would roughly cost an
estimated two hundred dollars a month. Also, in order to track their progress and goals, some
students who do not have access to a cellphone would need notebooks and folders to keep track
of everything, so the club would need to provide adequate supplies for that, as well. Moreover, to
help promote the club and cause, supplies to make things such as promotional posters and club tshirts would be necessary. To buy office supplies for these endeavors, the club would roughly
need another two hundred dollars and for the t-shirts, it may need an additional three hundred
dollars. Again, these are rough figures since the amount of members would highly influence the
expenses. Regardless, the students would create and carry-out numerous fundraising projects,
such as healthy food sales, car washes, or seek out tax-deductible contributions from their
parents.
Moreover, the biggest cost would incur from the annual health and fitness fair. In order to
host that sort of event, the school would need to rent tables, chairs, coolers, equipment for the
different activities and purchase items for promotional purposes. Also, it would need to supply its
attendants with refreshments and light snacks. Luckily, since the event would be hosted on
campus and consist of mostly volunteers, there would be very minimal venue or labor costs.
With all of that in mind, I would estimate that the event would cost about three thousand dollars
to host. In order to help fund this event, the administration would agree to cover some of its
expenses through the approval of the Keep it Moving! campaign. The funding would also
come from a school-wide fundraising effort in the form of booth sales at the health fair, Keep it

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Moving! t-shirt sales, reaching out to local community businesses for private donations,
possible tax-deductible contributions from the parents, and support from the different clubs at
school to carry-out food sales.
Scheduling
The Keep it Moving! health club on campus would meet weekly and would be
sponsored by different teachers throughout the campus. The health and fitness event would
ideally be hosted on a Saturday morning around the month of October or November when the
weather is much easier to handle. This timeframe would also allow enough time to raise funding
and bring awareness of the event.
Marketing
There are numerous ways to promote and market the Keep it Moving! health initiative.
Firstly, the school would launch a social media campaign that would consist of an official
Facebook page and Instagram account. On these sites, the school would announce important
updates to upcoming events, upload photos of students participating in the classroom physical
activities, as well as provide additional information on ways to donate. Likewise, these sites
could also serve as creative platforms where students and family members would receive
excellent dieting and fitness tips via their newsfeeds. These social media sites would offer a costfree alternative to websites and newsletters.
Moreover, the students from the Keep it Moving! health and fitness club would ensure
that the school is saturated with promotional posters that help bring awareness to both the cause
and their upcoming events. They would also sport and sell their Dont Stop, Keep it Moving!
and Live fit! Live Strong! t-shirts. Lastly, they would be primarily responsible for handing out
flyers to the surrounding communities in order to promote the Health and Fitness fair.

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Conclusion
With the implementation of the Keep it Moving! health campaign, students and faculty
members at Trevor G. Browne High School are expected to benefit immensely in terms of
leading healthier lifestyles. With the incorporation of physical activities and more health
education in the classrooms, the students will be better equipped to make healthier choices when
it comes to their day to day life. They will have learned about the importance of clean eating,
routine exercise and long term goal setting. These invaluable lessons will be taught routinely in
hopes that they are better retained and implemented for a lifetime. Additionally, students will
also have gained the support system that research says they need, since the Keep it Moving!
initiative includes a school-wide health and fitness club, as well as an annual health and fitness
fair. This will enable them to participate along with their peers, family members and community
members alike.
In order to allow the continuation of this health initiative, the school will collect data and
make the necessary changes to improve the program over time. With close monitoring and
continuous feedback, this initiative has the potential to be an incredible health program worthy of
expanding throughout the Phoenix Union High School District and beyond.
In the first year, it is anticipated for faculty members and the administration to become
closely acquainted with the health initiative and its goals. This sort of preparation will consist of
the necessary seminars and training, as well as a great opportunity to recruit teacher sponsors for
the club.
In the third year, the program will have incurred a more established reputation and more
members since students would have had a chance to participate in previous years. At this point,
the faculty members will also be exceptionally knowledgeable and comfortable with its concepts,

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as well. As a result, they will be more enthusiastic and involved. Moreover, the health and fitness
club and fair will have vastly improved since more equipment will be available for activities
from previous years.
By the fifth year, it is expected for the health initiative to have expanded to other high
schools in the district. The popularity and consistency of the health and fitness fairs will have led
to more attendees, which would warrant an additional fair per year. Therefore, we would hope
that one would be held in the spring as well. Furthermore, as far as the educational components
are concerned, it is anticipated that the mini-health lessons would be incremented to more than
just one a month in the classrooms.
Overall, Keep it Moving! would be a health initiative that seeks to positively affect
everyone involved; therefore, it is with great hopes that this type of prevention and intervention
strategy would be spread throughout schools in Arizona, so that ultimately, it would lead to a
more prosperous future for all.

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References
Allcock, D., Gardner, M., & Sowers, J. (2009). Relation Between Childhood Obesity and Adult
Cardiovascular Risk. International Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology, 2009. Retrieved
October 20, 2015, from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775687/pdf/IJPE2009-108187.pdf
Clarke, W., & Lauer, R. (2009). Does childhood obesity track into adulthood? Critical Reviews
in Food Science and Nutrition, 33(4-5), 423-430.
Combatting Childhood Obesity. (2014, April 21). Retrieved October 10, 2015, from
http://www.cdc.gov/features/preventchildhoodobesity/
Daniels, S. (2008, January 15). Childhood Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: A Societal Call
for Action. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
Deckelbaum, Richard, and Christine Williams. "Childhood Obesity: The Health Issue." Obesity A Research Journal. Wiley Online Library, 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Gurnani, M., Birken, C., & Hamilton, J. (2015). Childhood Obesity: Causes, Consequences, and
Management. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 62(4), 821-840. Retrieved September
26, 2015, from Science Direct.
Magarey, A., Daniels, L., Boulton, T., & Cockington, R. (2003). Predicting obesity in early
adulthood from childhood and parental obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord
International Journal of Obesity, 505-513.
Serdula, M., Ivery, D., Coates, R., Freedman, D., Williamson, D., & Byers, T. (1993). Do Obese
Children Become Obese Adults? A Review of the Literature. Preventive Medicine, 167
-177.

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Venn, A., Thomson, R., Schmidt, M., Cleland, V., Curry, B., Gennat, H., & Dwyer, T. (2007).
Overweight and obesity from childhood to adulthood: A follow-up of participants in the
1985 Australian Schools Health and Fitness Survey. The Medical Journal of Australia,
(186), 458-460. Retrieved October 20, 2015, from
https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2007/186/9/overweight-and-obesity-childhoodadulthood-follow-participants-1985-australian
Watson, P., Dugdill, L., Pickering, K., Bostock, S., Hargreaves, J., Staniford, L., & Cable, N.
(2011). A whole family approach to childhood obesity management (GOALS):
Relationship between adult and child BMI change. Ann Hum Biol Annals
of Human

Biology, (4), 445-452.

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Appendix A
Official Facebook Page

This official Facebook page will serve as part of the social media campaign. It can be accessed
by students, parents, and faculty to receive health and fitness tips, as well as learn about
upcoming events and club meets. It will also have a link to tools such as the choosemyplate.org
website and other helpful fitness tracking sites.
https://www.facebook.com/KeepitMovingAZ/

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Appendix B
Promotional Poster / Flyer for Health and Fitness Club

This promotional poster and flyer will be used to market the health and fitness club on campus.

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Appendix C
Poster for the Health and Fitness Fair

This is a promotional poster and flyer for the community health and fitness fair.

Appendix D
T-Shirt Designs

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These are the t-shirts that will be used to promote the club, as well as bring awareness to the
cause.

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Criteria
(5) Exemplary
(4) Highly
(3) Proficient
with
(97 100%)
Proficient
(83 92%)
Professional
(93 96%)
Standards
CORRELATION
OF CHILDHOOD AND ADULT OBESITY
Referenced
Outline
10 Points
Outline
Logical, detailed Brief outline
Brief outline
Turned
outline with at
with at least 5
with some
In(Already
least 5 original
original peer
references but
submitted
peer reviewed
reviewed
not 5 original
for points)
references
references
peer reviewed
written in APA
written in APA
references
format is
format is
written in APA
submitted with a submitted.
format are
technology
submitted.
choice selected
to embed the
assignment.
Introduction
Introduction
to the topic
and
overview
(In your
purpose
statement
also
introduce
all
subtopics)
InTASC
1c,k; 5k; 9f;
10h
NAEYC 6b
NETS-T
3a,d; 4a,c
CEC
EC2S1;
CC7K1;
EC7K1;CC
9K4;CC9S8

5 x 2=10 points
10 Points
Introduction is
Introduction is
fully developed,
fully developed
well organized,
with all topics
introduces all
introduced.
topics, created a
plan for the
paper and invites
the reader to read
further.

(1)
Unsatisfactory
(72%
and below)

Brief outline
with one or no
references
submitted.

No outline was
submitted.

Introduction is
addressed well,
somewhat
organized and
created a plan for
the paper.

Introduction is
addressed
adequately.

Introduction is
omitted or was
disorganized and
did not create a
plan for the
paper.

1. Literature
review may
address major
issues, but issues
may not be
supported with
expert
knowledge.

1. Literature
review does not
address the
major issues in
the area; the
level of support
for the issues is
not adequate.

1. Literature
review does not
have the depth of
knowledge
appropriate to
this upper level
course.

5 x 2=10 points

Literature Review
15 Points
Adequacy of 1. Literature
1. Literature
Knowledge
review highlights review addresses
(includes 5
major issues in
major issues in
peer
the area.
the area.
reviewed
2. Thorough use
2. Thorough use
original
of a range of
of a range of
research
references to
references to
articles
support key
support key
references)
issues.
issues.
InTASC
1c,k; 5k; 9f;
10h
NAEYC 6b
NETS-T
3a,d; 4a,c
CEC
EC2S1;
CC7K1;
EC7K1;CC
9K4;CC9S8

(2) Approaching
Proficient
(73 82%)

3. Description of
important studies
establishes
context for the
reader.
4. Includes more
than 5
informative
references.

3. Includes
descriptions of
important studies
to provide
context for the
reader.

2. Good use of
references, but
additional
references may
have
strengthened the
paper.

4. Includes 5 or
more references.

3. Includes 4
references.

5 x 3=15 points
Practical Implications and Technology infusion

30 Points

2. Includes 3
references.

2. Includes less
than 2
references.

20

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