Some 17.4 percent of American children are obese today, compared to 14.6 percent at the start of the century, says the Los Angeles Times, citing a study published in the journal Obesity. “Among children from infancy through age 18, rates of obesity have increased steadily from 1999 to 2014, and the numbers of children with the severest forms of obesity have risen most dramatically.” The study contradicts research published two years ago that found a drop in obesity rates among toddlers, ages 2-5, that was hailed as the dawn of progress on child obesity. In Obesity, researchers say they found no sign of a decline, whether in boys or girls.
Altogether, 4.5 million U.S. children and adolescents are severely obese and will need new and intensive efforts to improve their situation, say the researchers. The Times quoted the lead author of the study, Asheley Skinner,as saying, “This is really a population health problem that will require changes across the board — food policy, access to healthcare, school curriculums that include physical education, community and local resources in parks and sidewalks.”