Slimming Down: Childhood Obesity Rates Drop By More Than 40%

In America, bigger is better. We adore our gigantic cars, enormous media systems, and oversized burgers. If you can supersize it, we’ll love it. Unfortunately, this mentality has posed a bit of a problem for our collective waistline. In case you weren't aware, for a while now America has been struggling with an obesity epidemic; over one-third of adults are clinically obese. But a new report indicates that this unhealthy trend may be on its way out.

In a federal study, reports show that the obesity rate among young children in the U.S. has fallen dramatically. The obesity rate among two to five year-olds has dropped from almost 14 percent to 8.4 percent, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association; this brings the number down by almost 43 percent over the past decade. Ages six to 11 also saw a drop in rates, down from 18.8 percent to 17.7 percent. Besides being good news for kids now, this development could have a significant impact on future generations' health later in life — many major obesity risks are established before children reach the age of 5.

But here's the odd part of the story: No one is quite sure of the reasons behind the drop. The Center for Disease Control believes that several factors played a part in these new numbers. Children are consuming fewer calories from sugary drinks like soda, and many child-care facilities are focused on providing healthier meals for their charges. Some researchers have pointed to the overall trend of purchasing lower-calorie food as a possible factor behind the new results.

There’s also the influence of the government to consider. First Lady Michelle Obama has made fighting childhood obesity one of her major focuses, advocating for the health and wellbeing of children nationwide with her Let’s Move! campaign. 10,000 childcare centers across the country have vowed to work towards helping children live healthier lives. Additionally, the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, made some significant changes to its subsidized program. In an effort to encourage healthy eating among low-income families (and by extension their children), SNAP reduced funding for sugary fruit drinks and calorie-laden dairy products, and increasing it for fruits and vegetables. More research on the subject is necessary but whatever the cause, it’s a significant step in the right direction.

“This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group,” lead author of the report and CDC researcher Cynthia L. Ogden told the New York Times.“It was exciting.”

But don’t celebrate with an extra serving of ice cream just yet. While young children are on the road to a healthier lifestyle, the rest of America still has a lot of work to do. Obesity is up among teenagers, rising from 16.9 percent to 17.1 percent, and as previously stated over a third of the adult population remains clinically obese.

“Collectively, we will not make a big dent in obesity until we shift our cultural notion of a ‘proper meal’ to match the reality of our sedentary and technology-assisted lifestyles," physician Dr. Mark Berman recently told Healthline.

Any drop in obesity, particularly among children, is news worth celebrating; it can lead to serious health problems like diabetes, heart issues, and premature death (all things best to be avoided). But what this report really illustrates is how far America still has to go in the fight against this oversized epidemic.

[Pic via Flickr - USDAgov]