Obesity Rates at Age 3

“Obesity Among U.S. Urban Preschool Children: Relationships to Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status.” Robert C. Whitaker and Sean Orzol, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, June 2006. In the United States, a disparity among racial/ethnic groups in the prevalence of obesity is one of the great concerns and enigmas in the obesity epidemic. This article seeks to determine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of obesity among preschool children and determine whether these differences are explained by socioeconomic factors. Using data Mathematica collected for the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study in 20 large U.S. cities, the researchers found that the prevalence of obesity was 25.8 percent among Hispanics, 16.2 percent among blacks, and 14.8 percent among whites. The high prevalence of obesity among Hispanics relative to blacks or whites was not explained by racial/ethnic differences in maternal education, household income, or food security. Read more about the Fragile Families study.

Medicare Tracker Updated

Check out the latest updates to this interactive online resource, which provides current and historical information about Medicare Advantage plans at the national, state, and county level, as well as local data about the new Medicare stand-alone prescription drug plans. The information is based on Mathematica's analysis of publicly available data files from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Data are available nationally and by state, county, Medicare Advantage region, Prescription Drug Plan region, and metropolitan statistical area for select indicators. Some information is also available for rural and urban areas nationally and by state.

New Public Use Files

Researchers interested in children with disabilities and their families have a new data source--public use files are now available from Mathematica's National Survey of SSI Children and Families (NSCF), the first nationally representative survey since 1978 of children and young adults with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The survey data, which fill a gap in the data available to policy analysts by addressing a wide range of topics that cannot be analyzed with SSI administrative data and by providing a large sample, are now available on the web. The data files are accompanied by a user's manual that includes a detailed codebook and information about the sample design, questionnaire design and content, data collection procedures, variable construction, and other topics.

Read more about the NSCF. Read a recent report co-authored by senior researcher David Wittenburg based on these data.

AcademyHealth Presentations

Mathematica's health services staff will be presenting at the AcademyHealth annual research meeting in Seattle, WA, from June 25 to 27. This conference serves as a forum for researchers, policymakers, and key decision makers to share their latest work, debate timely policy issues, and develop new research skills. The agenda features 17 themes that address critical challenges confronting the nation's health care delivery system. Go here for a list of Mathematica presenters. Be sure to check out presenters at the adjunct meetings on state health policy, health information technology, and disability.

Read more about the conference.

For more information, please contact Publications, 609-275-2350.