Plateau in U.S. obesity rates offers some hope
May 28, 2008
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Megan Ogilvie
HEALTH REPORTER
Childhood obesity rates in the U.S. appear to have levelled off with no measurable increases seen since 1999, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers say the report's findings offer a "glimmer of hope" that the soaring rates of childhood obesity may have crested. But, they add, it is too soon to tell if the end of the childhood obesity epidemic is in sight.
"There is cautious optimism," said Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist at the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC and the study's lead author. "That said, the rates are still high. We haven't solved the problem."
Childhood obesity rates in the U.S. and Canada are three times higher than they were several decades ago. Obesity, even in young children, raises a person's risk of getting a host of health problems, including cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.
The study, published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared the body mass index (BMI) of more than 8,000 U.S. children and adolescents. Researchers found no statistically different trend between 1999 and 2006 for boys and girls.
Diane Finegood, head of nutrition, metabolism and diabetes with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, said the report offers some hope, but does not provide evidence the trend is reversing or that BMIs of children are going down.
Unlike the U.S., which has surveyed kids since 1960, Canada has not regularly tracked national childhood obesity rates. That will change this year with the launch of the Canadian Health Measures Survey, said Finegood.
Finegood said it will take a few more years of data to know whether the U.S. findings are a statistical aberration or the start of an important trend. She and other experts said the plateau might mean public campaigns around fitness and proper diet are starting to work.
Toronto Star