Obesity In US Children Could Be Leveling Off
New research shows that the percentage of American children who are overweight or obese appears to have leveled off after a 25-year increase but a worrisome 16 percent of young people remain obese, risking serious health problems.
"That is the first encouraging finding in what has been unremittingly bad news. But it’s too soon to know if this really means we’re beginning to make meaningful inroads into this epidemic. It may simply be a statistical fluke,” said Dr. David Ludwig, director of an obesity clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston.
According to the research, obesity rates remained essentially unchanged among boys and girls ages 2 to 19 from 1999 to 2006.
The study found that 32 percent fit the government’s definition of being overweight, 16 percent fit the definition for obesity and 11 percent were extremely obese. Those levels held steady after rising without interruption since 1980.
"Maybe there is some reason for a little bit of optimism," said CDC researcher Cynthia Ogden, the study’s lead author.
Ludwig said the study shows a glimmer of hope that public health efforts to increase awareness of obesity may be paying off.
The results are based on 8,165 children ages 2 to 19 who participated in nationally representative government health surveys in 2003-04 and 2005-06.
The surveys are considered the most accurate reflection of obesity levels because they are based on in-person measurements, not on people’s own reporting of their height and weight.
The study also illustrated ongoing ethnic and racial disparities.
It found that 17 percent of boys 2 to 19 overall were obese, but 23 percent of Mexican American boys were obese compared to 17 percent of blacks and 16 percent of whites. For girls, 16 percent were obese, including 24 percent of blacks, 19 percent of Mexican Americans and 14 percent of whites.
Ludwig said obesity is striking poor and minority children more severely than whites and wealthier populations
“The country should be congratulated if the rates have in fact peaked,” said Dr. Reginald Washington, a children’s heart specialist in Denver and member of an American Academy of Pediatrics obesity committee.
Some schools are providing better meals and increasing physical education, and Americans in general "are more aware of the importance of fruits and vegetables," he said.
Still, said Washington, we still have a “long way to go.”
The study was published in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
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