HHS HealthBeat (August 04, 2008)

Holding a wide line

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Too many of America’s kids weigh too much. But a study indicates that at least the proportion of children and teenagers who are out of proportion is not growing. The report says the prevalence stabilized between 1999 and 2005, even for differing degrees of overweight.

Researcher Cynthia Ogden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

"This was true for boys and girls, for whites, for African-Americans, for Mexican-Americans – and it was even true when we picked three different levels of high body mass index."  (10 seconds)

This may be reason for hope but not necessarily something to celebrate. The heath risks for overweight children and teens still exist. And Ogden can’t be sure this plateau won’t end and the unhealthy upward climb would resume.

The study is in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 04 2008