More children developing obesity before leaving primary school than before, finds study

USA: A recent study, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has shed light on the changes in the incidence of childhood obesity. The study suggests that more and more children (particularly Black children) that enter kindergarten at a normal weight are developing obesity by the end of fifth grade. 

The researchers reported a higher incidence of childhood obesity, an occurrence at younger ages, and increased severity in young people born in the 2000s than 12 years previous implying that more youths may now be at risk for adverse health outcomes associated with the early onset of diabetes. This was despite the fact that they were exposed to more intensive efforts for diabetes prevention than earlier cohorts. 

"Approximately 40% of today's high school students and young adults experience overweight or obesity before leaving primary school, "Solveig A. Cunningham, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, and collages wrote in their study. 

Before the study, it was already known that there is a high prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States, and obesity in early life is linked with long-term poor physical and mental health. The study was conducted with the objective to examine childhood obesity incidence across recent cohorts.

For this purpose, the researchers studied obesity incidence and prevalence in 2 cohorts of children in the US 12 years apart. An annualized incidence rate and cumulative incidence proportion of obesity were investigated. Obesity was measured on the basis of BMI z-score ≥95th percentile based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weight-for-age z-scores.