Study: PA not part of nationwide decrease in childhood obesity
(Atlanta) — A new study shows Pennsylvania is not keeping pace with nationwide improvements in childhood obesity rates.
The report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looks at low-income preschoolers and finds childhood obesity rates have declined in 18 states and held steady in 20 others.
Childhood obesity rates went up in Pennsylvania.
Rates went up in Pennsylvania and two other states.
CDC Director Doctor Tom Frieden says the information reveals more work to be done to combat obesity.
“Data is showing a tipping point, really, from steady increases to true decreases in many places around the U.S.,” Frieden says. “It’s encouraging news, but we’re very, very far from being out of the woods.”
Frieden credits a number of trends for the decrease in childhood obesity.
He says significant changes in the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program are making healthier foods available to low-income families, and he says an increase in breastfeeding is leading to healthier babies.
Stay tuned at Transforming Health for coverage on the topic of obesity this September.
Look at the map:
Photo by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Stats from the CDC:
1 in 8
About 1 in 8 preschoolers is obese in the US.
19
Obesity among low-income preschoolers declined, from 2008 through 2011, in 19 of 43 states and territories studied.
5x
Children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are 5 times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults.
Related:
- What causes childhood obesity?
- Basics about childhood obesity
- Progress on childhood obesity
- Kids need exercise, too
- 25 healthy snacks for kids
