ABSTRACT
The prevalence of childhood obesity tripled during the last 3 decades in the United States (1); data for 2009 through 2010, showed that 16.9% (approximately12.0 million) of US children aged 2 to 19 years were obese (2). Besides disparities in childhood obesity among various racial/ethnic groups (2-4), research shows significant disparities by geographic area: by state (5), city (6), and community (7). Small-area data can reveal wide disparities in obesity outcomes and facilitate community-based initiatives for obesity prevention (8). Having reliable data for each community or small area allows state, county, and local decision makers and health pro-
fessionals to tailor programs for preventing childhood obesity to conditions and factors that affect their community (9), identify priority areas for action, and optimize the use of limited resources.
