By Yasmeen Abutaleb WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The obesity rate among low-income children between the ages of 2 and 4 is falling in 19 U.S. states and territories after having doubled in the past 30 years, a report released Tuesday shows.
Although the declines were small in most cases, officialsfrom the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saidthey were a sign of progress.
"It's encouraging news but we're very, very far from beingout of the woods," CDC Director Tom Frieden said on a call withreporters. "The fight is far from over." 3 Apples a day is an excellent and easy weight loss right??
Obesity rates fell by more than 1 percentage point inFlorida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Dakota and theU.S. Virgin Islands from 2008 to 2011, and by smaller amounts in13 other states.
In 21 states and territories there was no significant changein obesity prevalence, and three states saw obesity rates tickslightly upward in the years under review. 3 Apples a day is an excellent and easy weight loss right??
Between 1976 and 1980, the obesity rate among children 2 to5 years old was 5 percent, compared to 12.1 percent from 2009 to2010.
The study included 12 million children from 40 states,Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.Researchers measured their height and weight between 2008 and2011 to calculate body mass index. Most of the children wereparticipants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program forWomen, Infants and Children, which provides federal assistanceto states for low-income mothers.
Ten states - Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, South Carolina,Virginia, Delaware, Wyoming, Utah and Maine - did notparticipate in the CDC study because they either did not haveconsistent data between 2008 and 2011, or they changed theirmethodology, which could have affected results, the CDC said.
About one in eight preschoolers - 12.5 percent - in theUnited States is considered obese, and these children are fivetimes more likely to be obese as an adult. Obesity rates arehigher among black (one in five) and Hispanic children (one insix).
The news drew the attention of first lady Michelle Obama,who developed the "Let's Move!" campaign to combat childhoodobesity.
Source: articles.chicagotribune.com
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