ORIGINAL RESEARCH

A Multilevel Approach to Estimating Small Area Childhood Obesity Prevalence at the Census Block-Group Level

 
Figure 1. The relationship between correlation coefficients of model-based and direct survey estimates and minimum county sample size. The figure shows an increasing positive relationship between the correlation coefficients of model-based and direct survey estimates and the minimum county sample sizes.  As the minimum county sample size increases, the correlation between model-based and direct survey estimates also increases.  The correlation reaches approximately 0.90 and levels off once the minimum county sample size reaches 150.

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The figure is a map showing the block-group level estimates for childhood obesity prevalence, divided into 5 data ranges. The first range, the lowest (3.3%–12.0%), includes portions of states in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.  The second (12.1%–16.8%), third (16.9%–22.0%), and fourth (22.1%–28.1%) ranges are distributed throughout the United States. The highest range (28.2%–42.7%) includes portions of states along the southern Atlantic coast, the Deep South, the Southwest, California, and Alaska. In some states, block-level childhood obesity rates vary greatly.

 
Figure 2. Model-Based Childhood Obesity Prevalence Estimates by Block Group in the United States, 2010.

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