Childhood Obesity affects 20% of 4-year-olds

April 07, 2009

A new study shows that 1 in 5 American 4 year olds is obese. For American Indian children the rate is even higher - 1 in 3. That is more than half a million young kids who are too fat for good health and means many of them will have heart disease, high blood pressure, cancers, achy joints and other health problems as they get older if they can't lose some weight.

There was a real difference in a child's chances of being obese depending on his or her race: almost 13% of Asian children, 16% of whites, 21% of blacks, 2% of Hispanics, and 31% of American Indian. The researchers measured their Body Mass Index (BMI) to decide if the kids were obese. BMI is a math formula that looks at a person's height and weight. For 4-year-olds, a BMI 18 or more means a kid is obese.

The study didn't say why some kids were more obese than others. But eating healthy, exercising and getting enough sleep help lower the risk. You can learn more about childhood obesity and eating healthy by visiting the Phat Fat Rap HealthRock cartoon, or listening to HealthRock songs called Exercise, BMI, Spot the Box about how to read a food label.

This childhood obesity study was done by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and was reported in the medical journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.