UC Davis study shows that the increase in obesity among
California school children has slowed Researchers recommend
expanded fitness testing and outreach to reduce childhood
obesity among the very youngest children Click here to view this
release en español. After years of increases in the rates of
childhood obesity, a new UC Davis study shows that the increase
slowed from 2003 to 2008 among California school children. While
encouraged by the results, the authors expressed concern about a
group of youngsters currently driving the increase in obesity:
children under age 10. "Children who were obese entering the
fifth grade remained obese in subsequent years as well, despite
improvements in school nutrition and fitness standards," said
William Bommer, professor of cardiovascular medicine at UC Davis
and senior author of the study. "And we suspect that this trend
begins before kindergarten." Published in the February 2012
issue of the American Heart Journal, the results indicate a
major turning point in efforts