Two weeks after researchers reported that obesity rates decreasing for the first time in decades, new data from the Centers for Disease Control now show that this decrease is also being seen in low-income preschoolers who qualify as obese or extremely obese.
Study author Dr. Heidi Blanck of the CDC and her colleagues used data on routine clinic visits for about half of all U.S. children eligible for federal nutrition programs including 27.5 million children between the ages of two and four.
Published in JAMA, the study was based on data from 30 states and the District of Columbia and covered the years from 1998 to 2010. The share of children who were obese declined to 14.9 percent in 2010, down from 15.2 percent in 2003. Extreme obesity also declined slightly, dropping to 2.07 percent in 2010 from 2.22 percent in 2003. Although it is unclear what drove the decline, Dr. Blanck and colleagues offered two possible contributors: higher rates of breastfeeding and increasing awareness of the importance of physical activity and nutrition.
Breastfeeding I m not too sure about as contributing to declining children s obesity rate, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross, but physical activity and well-balanced nutrition are definitely important factors in curbing the number of obese children in the U.S.
ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava adds, Perhaps the great media attention to the health impacts of obesity has made more parents aware of the importance of proper food selection for their children. Whatever the reason for the declines in obesity rates small though they are these data are very welcome!