PENNSYLVANIA Study charts rates, risk of obesity in schoolchildren

HARRISBURG (AP) -- A study that tracked a group of 25,000 Pennsylvania pupils for three school years showed that 18 percent were overweight and an additional 17 percent were at risk of becoming overweight by the time they reached eighth grade, the study's final year.
Conducted by the state Health Department and Penn State researchers from 1999-2002, the study compared height and weight measurements of more than 25,000 pupils in 160 schools to obesity guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Health Department also is conducting a body-mass index pilot program in 10 state schools. It is designed to see what effect obesity screening will have on schools and school nurses, and to gauge the reactions of parents who receive the results.
Teenagers in the United States, Greece, Portugal, Israel, Ireland and Denmark ranked among the most overweight in a recent study of nearly 30,000 teens in 15 industrialized nations.
Among American 15-year-olds, 15 percent of girls and nearly 14 percent of boys were obese, and 31 percent of girls and 28 percent of boys were more moderately overweight.
U.S. teens were comparatively more likely to eat fast food and snacks and drink sugary sodas, and to have a more sedentary lifestyle.