Hispanic Health Risks: Youth Face Risk Of Increased Rate Of Weight Gain During Summer Vacation

A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examining weight gain amongst students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds over the summer has made a surprising finding: Hispanic children are more likely to put on weight during vacation than their peers of other races.

The CDC's analysis -- which looked at seven studies -- also found the accelerated summer weight pattern amongst African-American youth and those children and adolescents who are already overweight and obese. With summer around the corner, the "observed negative effects of summer vacation on weight gain" in the Hispanic youth population is a troubling find.

"This is exactly what I see all the time," Dr. Keith Ayoob, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and director of the Nutrition Clinic at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said to CBS News. "I work with a lot of African-American and Hispanic children who are of low-income, inner-city minority population. They are home a lot more, they eat a lot more because they have exposure at home and they're less active. They get to do all their leisure activities that are sedentary."

The CDC has previously found, as published in JAMA Pediatrics, that 1 out of every 3 children in the U.S. is considered overweight or obese. According to findings from Arizona State University, Hispanics in the U.S. have high obesity rates, with an estimated 55 percent qualifying to fit in that category.