THE childhood obesity epidemic in the US may have peaked, but its detrimental effects on health have barely begun.
The proportion of US children and adolescents who were unusually heavy for their height rose by about 20 per cent from 1999 to 2004, but didn鈥檛 change between 2003 and 2006. These latest figures are from Cynthia Ogden and colleagues at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Hyattsville, Maryland, who surveyed 8000 young people (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 299, p 2401).
Even so, there鈥檚 no reason to celebrate yet, as the epidemic has peaked at worrying levels: 32 per cent of US children are overweight and 16 per cent are obese.
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鈥淭he public health toll of childhood obesity will continue to mount,鈥� warn Cara Ebbeling and David Ludwig, obesity researchers at the Children鈥檚 Hospital Boston, in an editorial accompanying the study. 鈥淚t can take many years for an obese child to develop life-threatening complications.鈥�
鈥淚t can take many years for an obese child to develop life-threatening complications鈥�
