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CDC: Obesity among low-income preschoolers declined in 19 states
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According to the CDC, obesity rates among low-income preschoolers have significantly declined in 19 states and territories in the United States.
“Nineteen states and territories are seeing decreases in rates of obesity among low-income preschoolers aged 2 to 4 [years]. We’ve seen isolated reports in the past that have had encouraging trends, but this is the first report to show many states with declining rates of obesity in our youngest children after literally decades of rising rates … It’s encouraging news but we’re very far from being out of the woods,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said during a media teleconference.
Thomas Frieden
Data were collected from the CDC's Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS), a state-based public health surveillance system which monitors the nutritional status of 11.6 million low-income children aged 0 to 4 years. Particularly, data are collected from patients enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
According to data, the largest decline of obesity prevalence was observed in the US Virgin Islands (adjusted OR=0.92; 95% CI, 0.87-0.97).
Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey and South Dakota also displayed an absolute decrease in obesity prevalence from 2008 to 2011 (≥1%), according to data.
Moreover, the CDC reports that the relative decrease in obesity prevalence among the 19 states or territories ranged from 1.8% to 19.1%.
However, 10 states were not included in the analysis due to a lack of data.
“Even if we take these 10 [states] into account, we are still seeing progress,” CDC researcher Ashleigh L. May, PhD, said during the teleconference.
The report states that an additional 21 states or territories displayed no significant trend in rising obesity prevalence among preschool-aged children. However, the analysis shows that three states experienced a significant upward trend in obesity prevalence. According to data, the absolute increase in obesity prevalence from 2008 to 2011 for the three states ranged from 0.6% to 0.7%. The relative increase in childhood obesity prevalence among the three states ranged from 5.2% to 6.4%, the researchers wrote.
Furthermore, secondary analyses revealed that Montana demonstrated no significant trend in 2008 to a significant decrease in the prevalence of obesity in 2011 (adjusted OR=0.97; 95% CI, 0.94-1.00), researchers wrote.
Additional data indicate that the prevalence of obesity among states analyzed in this report ranged from 9.2% to 17.9% in 2011. Of 10 states or territories with an obesity prevalence of ≥15%, prevalence was highest in Puerto Rico (17.9%). Lastly, the researchers wrote that six states or territories had an obesity prevalence of <12%, with Hawaii having the lowest prevalence (9.2%).
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Disclosure: The researchers did not specify relevant financial disclosures.