Obesity among young children fell 43 percent in past decade, CDC says
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Noelle Swan Staff writer
After decades of rising obesity rates in the United States, public health officials are finally seeing some small gains in efforts to curb the epidemic, at least among the nation's youngest citizens.
Childhood obesity rates among children ages 2 to 5 have declined 43 percent in the past decade, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published in the Wednesday issue of .
These findings confirm the results of several smaller, more localized studies from around the country that have seen a similar reduction of obesity rates among children under 5, says Elsie Taveras, chief of general pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an obesity expert.
While the study did not pinpoint the specific catalysts for this change, the following things may have played a role, Dr. Taveras suggests: changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which have reduced funding for juices and fatty foods in favor of whole fruits and vegetables, and Michelle Obama鈥檚 push for expanded nutrition and exercise programs in schools, which has recently been introduced to many child-care centers.
The first lady sees the findings as hopeful confirmation that her 鈥淟et鈥檚 Move!鈥� campaign is gaining traction.
鈥淚 am thrilled at the progress we鈥檝e made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans,鈥� Mrs. Obama said in a statement. 鈥淲ith the participation of kids, parents, and communities in Let鈥檚 Move! these last four years, healthier habits are beginning to become the new norm.鈥�
Previous studies have suggested that obesity frequently takes hold in early years and can carry through into later childhood and adulthood. CDC Director Tom Frieden is optimistic that the converse will prove true for this particular cohort.
鈥淭his confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic,鈥� Mr. Frieden said in a statement. 鈥淲e continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping. This report comes on the heels of previous CDC data that found a significant decline in obesity prevalence among low-income children aged 2 to 4 years participating in federal nutrition programs.鈥�
While early-childhood obesity rates declined across demographics 鈥� from 14 to 8 percent since 2003 鈥� obesity is more prevalent among minority children. That finding is also consistent with Taveras鈥檚 own research and practice.
鈥淲e are not seeing equal distribution of that beneficial effect,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ven among those 2-to-5-year-olds, if you look at children who are obese, there are some serious racial and ethnic differences.鈥�
Across the board, roughly 1 in 12 young children are considered obese. Among blacks, that rate increases to 1 in 9 children, and it's higher still for Hispanic children (1 in 6).
鈥淲e might have done a really great job for a subpopulation, but we鈥檙e really not meeting the needs equally across the population,鈥� Taveras says. 鈥淎s we roll out initiatives for obesity prevention, we have to do that with a sense of equality.鈥�
While the news bodes well for the nation鈥檚 toddlers and preschoolers, the decline has not extended to older children or adults. The researchers found that broader obesity rates have leveled off in recent years, with one-third of adults and 17 percent of older children weighing in as obese.
While Taveras would like to see that number start to decline, she does see hope in the fact that it has not continued to rise higher.
鈥淭hat sense of a plateau is promising, especially after so many years where we were seeing such an increase in scope,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 incredibly promising."
