Factors associated with overweight among urban American Indian adolescents: findings from Project EAT.

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of overweight in a sample of urban American Indian adolescents and identify associated behavioral, personal, and socioenvironmental factors. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS Participants were 246 American Indian boys and girls from the Saint Paul-Minneapolis metropolitan area of Minnesota who completed classroom surveys and anthropometric measurements as part of Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), a population-based study of adolescent nutrition and weight. MEASURES Survey items assessed behavioral factors (physical activity, television/video viewing, snacking and meal patterns, weight control behaviors), personal factors (body satisfaction, nutrition knowledge, nutrition/fitness attitudes, self-efficacy to make healthy food choices, perceived benefits/barriers to healthy eating), and socioenvironmental factors (family meal routines, family connectedness, parental attitudes regarding nutrition/fitness, availability of household foods, peer attitudes about weight and fitness). RESULTS Overweight prevalence (body mass index > or =85th percentile) was 43% and 39% for American Indian boys and girls. Compared to nonoverweight American Indian youth, overweight American Indian youth reported watching more hours of television/videos, greater use of weight control behaviors, less frequent snacking, caring less about fitness, lower body satisfaction, and greater parental concern about weight. CONCLUSION Obesity prevention programs targeting American Indian adolescents should focus on reducing time spent watching television/videos, screening for unhealthy weight-control behaviors, improving body satisfaction, and providing support for families to integrate healthy eating into their busy lifestyles.