Good news for the fight against obesity in the United States - obesity rates among low-income preschoolers may finally be starting to decrease, according to a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report found that 19 of 43 states and territories surveyed showed "small but significant" decreases in the obesity rates for low-income preschoolers between 2008 and 2011. Another 20 states and Puerto Rico showed no change, and three states (Colorado, Pennsylvania and Tennessee) experienced slight increases between 0.6 and 0.7 percentage points.
Despite the decline, one in eight U.S. preschoolers is still obese which many attribute to excessive consumption of sugary drinks, fast-food, rise in gaming consumption and lack of exercise.
"Although obesity remains epidemic, the tide has begun to turn for some kids in some states," said CDC Director Tom Frieden in a written statement. "While the changes are small, for the first time in a generation they are going in the right direction."
Frieden also credited First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative for its focus on healthy eating and physical activity in preschools.
Overweight or obese preschoolers are five times more likely to become overweight or obese adults as their non-obese peers, according to the CDC. Currently, about one in eight preschoolers in the United States is obese.
Researchers looked at about 12 million low-income children in three government aid programs from 2008 to 2011.
Obesity rates for low-income preschool-aged children have increased from a low of 10 percent nationally in 1990. The rates began to level off around 14 percent from 2003 to 2008, and researchers began to see declines in many states in 2011.
