Study finds kids who experience racism could be at higher risk for obesity

BOSTON - A new study found that children who experience racial discrimination may be at higher risk for obesity.

Researchers at NYU looked at data on more than 6,000 children ages 9 to 11 across the country from 2017 to 2019 and found that those who reported feeling as though they were treated unfairly by others based on their race or ethnicity had higher BMIs and larger waist circumference a year later, even when household income and parents' level of education was taken into account.

They said reducing exposure to racial discrimination in early childhood would not only improve a child's well-being but could limit the risk of weight gain over that child's lifespan. 

In:
• Health
• Obesity
• Racism
• Children

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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