Reducing the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in Households Receiving Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits in Baltimore City, Maryland through Interactive Nutrition Education
![handle is hein.journals/heallaw12 and id is 9 raw text is:
REDUCING THE PREVALENCE OF
CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN HOUSEHOLDS
RECEIVING SUPPLEMENT NUTRITION
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM BENEFITS
IN BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND THROUGH
INTERACTIVE NUTRITION EDUCATION
Raenetta L. Ellison, JD, MPH*
INTRODUCTION
Childhood obesity is a public health problem that disproportionately affects children in
low-income families. Obesity is a condition characterized by excessive fat on the body
that can cause serious health implications.' Approximately 17% of children in the United
States are obese.2 Health professionals use the body mass index (BMI) calculation to
determine if a child is obese. A high BMI is indicative of high body fat, with obesity
characterized as having the highest range of body fat.3
Because weights and heights of children change frequently during growth and
development in relation to body fat, a child's BMI is an interpretation relative to other
children of the same sex and age.4 Therefore, researchers use percentiles to express
BMI for children. These percentiles are standardized percentages that indicate the value
* Raenetta L. Ellison is currently a Senior Policy Analyst at Social Security Administration (SSA)
in Baltimore, Maryland. She is responsible for drafting new and revising existing social insurance
program policies that are consistent with the Social Security Act. Additionally, she provides policy
support on intra and inter-agency initiatives involving retirement, disability, and Supplemental
Security Income. Before working at SSA, Ms. Ellison was a Disease Intervention Specialist and the
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at the Jefferson County Department of Health in Birmingham,
Alabama. In this position, she conducted epidemiological investigations of reportable diseases and
foodborne illnesses. Also, she implemented and analyzed all countywide influenza surveillance
activities, and reported this data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Emergency
Preparedness Coordinator, Ms. Ellison planned and implemented the health department's
emergency preparedness activities, collaborated with local and state leaders to develop a unified
emergency response plan, and revised the health department's emergency operations plan. Her
other professional experiences includes designing community-based research projects on colorectal
cancer and moderating focus groups on health topics. She earned her Juris Doctorate from American
University Washington College of Law, Master of Public Health from Tulane University, and
Bachelor of Science from Xavier University of Louisiana.
1Media Centre, Obesity and Overweight, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION [hereinafter WHO] (May
13, 2016, 2:49 AM), http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs31 1/en/.
2 Childhood Obesity Facts, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION [hereinafter CDC]
(2014), https://www.cde.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html.
3 Healthy Weight, About Child & Teen BMI, CDC (2015), https://www.ede.gov/healthyweight/
assessing/bmi/childrens bmi/about childrens bmi.htm1.
4 Id.
1
Reducing the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in Households Receiving Supplement Nutrition
Assistance Program Benefits in Baltimore City Maryland through Interactive Nutrition Education](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/heallaw12&div=6&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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