About 40 percent of high school students and young adults today were once obese or could be classified as overweight before leaving primary school.
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Children born in the 2000s had higher rates of obesity and were younger than children 12 years old before that, despite public health campaigns and interventions to prevent obesity.
Black non-Hispanic kindergarten students were 29% more likely to have obesity in 5th grade than non-Hispanic preschoolers 12 years earlier.
The risk of developing primary obesity among the most economically disadvantaged groups increased by 15%.
“These disturbing data suggest that the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States continues to grow and become more severe,” Narayan said. “We urgently need an active national strategy of interdisciplinary research and public health to stem the tide of childhood obesity and its consequences in the United States and around the world.”
Cunningham adds, “Over the decades, we have seen an increasing number of children develop obesity, despite the extensive efforts of many parents and policymakers to improve children’s nutrition, physical activity and living environment. Our findings indicate that no, obesity must continue to be a public health priority.”
Source: Eurekalert
