Obesity rates among children in Eastern Massachusetts dropped from 1999-2008, a trend which may be occurring in many other parts of the country, researchers from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported in the journal Pediatrics. However, the authors added that obesity prevalence in childhood in lower-income households has not reduced.
Dr. Xiaozhong Wen and team set out to find out what was happening to obesity rates among US kids aged up to six years.
They gathered information on 108,762 well-child visits at pediatric units in Eastern Massachusetts between 1999 and 2008. A total of 36,827 kids were involved in the study.
The researchers used CDC 2000 gender-specific growth charts to determine which children were classed as obese.
Estimates were made for gender-specific obesity trends during 1999-2003 and 2004-2008. The investigators made adjustments for health insurance, race, ethnicity, practice site, and age group.
They found that from 1999 to 2003, obesity rates remained pretty much the same for both sexes. However, from 2004 to 2008 rates dropped significantly among both males and females.
The drop in obesity prevalence during the 2004-2008 period was much more noticeable among kids who were insured by non-Medicaid health plans, compared to those insured by Medicaid.
Obesity rates among preschoolers appears to be falling in many parts of the USA
In an abstract in the same journal, the authors concluded:
“Among children aged
Christian Nordqvist