February 26, 2014
Research indicating that the obesity rate among young children is declining was covered by all of last night’s national news broadcasts, for a total of three-and-a-half minutes, by most major US newspapers, by wire sources, and on many major websites. Many sources hailed the findings, with some experts saying the data indicate that anti-obesity efforts are paying off. However, the good news was tempered by the fact that no decline in obesity rates was seen among any other age group. Many sources quote CDC director Tom Frieden and CDC epidemiologist Cynthia Ogden, lead author of the study.
NBC Nightly News (2/25, story 3, 1:55, Williams) reported, in what it called “stunning news,” that “researchers say there’s evidence of a dramatic drop in obesity among young children.” NBC’s Rehema Ellis said, “Researchers tracked two to five-year-olds and found the obesity rate went from 14 percent in 2003 to 8 percent in 2012. That’s a stunning 43 percent decline in obesity.”
On ABC World News (2/25, story 5, 1:20, Sawyer), ABC’s Linzie Janis said, “The CDC is calling it the first significant decrease in the epidemic, and it is particularly important, since new evidence suggests that kids who are overweight at that age are more likely to be overweight as adults.” In a brief report, the CBS Evening News (2/25, story 8, 0:20, Pelley) called the new data “encouraging.”
According to the Washington Post (2/26, Sun), this “report, published online…in the Journal of the American Medical Association, comes on the heels of data released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that obesity rates among low-income preschoolers participating in federal nutrition programs declined broadly from 2008 to 2011 after rising for decades.”
USA Today (2/26, Szabo) reports that in a statement, Frieden said, “We continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping.” Dr. Frieden added, “This confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic.”
On its front page, the New York Times (2/26, A1, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that Ogden “cautioned that these very young children make up a tiny fraction of the American population and that the figures for the broader society had remained flat, and that for women over 60, the obesity rate had even increased.” Nonetheless, “the lower obesity rates in the very young bode well for the future…said” Ogden.
The Wall Street Journal (2/26, A4, Mckay, Subscription Publication) reports that although the reasons for the decline are unclear, a number of child-care centers now offer healthier food choices, said the CDC in a statement. Additionally, the agency pointed out that children are consuming fewer sugary beverages. Additionally, higher rates of breast feeding may have had an impact.
Bloomberg News (2/25, Lopatto) points out that last year, “CDC director Thomas Frieden said that a drop in obesity seen among low-income children ages 2 to 4 in 2011 might be due to policy changes in programs aimed at helping young children and mothers eat healthier, as well as an increase in breast feeding, and nutrition initiatives such as first lady Michelle Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ campaign.”
On its website, TIME (2/26, Winograd) reports that Mrs. Obama “responded to the CDC report saying she was ‘thrilled at the progress we’ve made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans.’” The article points out that “Obama has been an outspoken advocate for children’s health and was due to unveil the administration’s new restrictions on marketing of junk foods Tuesday as part of her ‘Let’s Move’ initiative to fight childhood obesity.”
CQ (2/26, Young, Subscription Publication) reports, “Frieden additionally cited the community efforts to fight obesity in such locales as New York, Philadelphia, Anchorage, Alaska and King County, Wash.”
In a front-page story, the Boston Globe (2/26, A1, Kotz) reports that “public health officials contend that a leveling off in obesity rates among older children should be read as a sign that anti-obesity initiatives are working in that age group.”
The Huffington Post (2/26, Chan) reports, “The study examined weight, height and recumbent length of 9,120 people – including 584 infants and toddlers and 5,181 adults ages 20 and older – who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2011-2012.” The data indicated that “more than 68 percent of U.S. adults were obese or overweight, with 34.9 percent being obese (with a body mass index of 30 or higher) and 6.4 percent being extremely obese (with a BMI of 40 or higher).” Additionally, “obesity prevalence increased among women ages 60 and older from 35.1 percent to more than 38 percent between the two time frames.”
McClatchy (2/26, Pugh, Subscription Publication) reports, “Much of the decline among young children ages 2-5 occurred over the final two years of the study, as their obesity rates fell roughly 33 percent – from just over 12 percent in 2009-2010 to just over 8 percent in 2011-2012.”
The AP (2/26, Stobbe) reports that “some experts note that…the improvement in toddlers wasn’t a steady decline,” so “it’s hard to know yet whether preschooler weight figures are permanently curving down or merely jumping around.” The AP adds, however, “it is enough of a decline to be optimistic, said…Ogden.”
The Los Angeles Times (2/26, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that “in a statement…the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which has underwritten research and programs aimed at reducing child obesity, called” the decline “a ‘remarkable turnaround.’” Also covering the story are the Modern Healthcare (2/26, Johnson, Subscription Publication) “Vital Signs” blog, Alabama Live (2/26, Oliver), Medscape(2/26, Tucker), MedPage Today (2/26, Fiore), HealthDay (2/26, Marcus), the San Francisco Chronicle (2/26) “Chron RX” blog, theMSNBC (2/26, Delmore) website, the CNN (2/26, Wilson) website, the NBC News (2/26, Aleccia) website, and the CBS News (2/26, Jaslow) website.
Article courtesy American Medical Association
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