Estimating prevalence of overweight and obesity at the neighborhood level: the value of maternal height and weight data available on birth certificate records

OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of maternal height and weight data on birth certificate records when estimating prevalence of overweight and obese adults at the neighborhood level. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Regression analysis was used to determine how much variation in the percentage of the adult population with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 25 (based on survey data) could be accounted for by the percentage of mothers with BMI ≥ 25 (based on birth certificate data) -- alone and in combination with other sociodemographic characteristics of census tracts. RESULTS: Alone, the percentage of mothers with BMI ≥ 25 explained more than half (R(2 )= .52) of the variation in the percentage of all residents in census tracts with BMI ≥ 25; in combination with several measures of the sociodemographic characteristics of the census tracts, 75% ( R(2 )= 75.2) of the variation is explained. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal height and weight data available from birth certificate records may be useful for identifying neighborhoods with relatively high or low prevalence of adult residents who are overweight or obese. This is especially true if used in combination with readily available census data.