(RxWiki News) Over the last 30 years, obesity prevalence has increased in all age groups, a new study found. That new study looked at the trends after recent efforts to decrease obesity.
For this study, researchers at Duke Clinical Research Institute looked at data for children aged 2 to 19 years from 1999 to 2014.
These researchers found that 33.4 percent of children were overweight in 2013-2014. Furthermore, 17.4 percent of children were classified as having class I obesity, or a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 35. These researchers also found that 6.1 percent of children met the criteria for class II obesity (BMI of at least 35), and 2.3 percent of children met the criteria for class III (BMI of 40 or higher).
These researchers found a statistically significant increase in obesity (all classes) from 1999 through 2014 — despite the public health and individual efforts made to reduce obesity.
"We don’t want the findings to cause people to become frustrated and disheartened," said lead study author Dr. Asheley Skinner, of Duke, in a press release. "This is really a population health problem that will require changes across the board — food policy, access to health care, school curriculums that include physical education, community and local resources in parks and sidewalks. A lot of things put together can work."
Speak to your pediatrician about your child's health.
This study was published recently in the journal Obesity.
The authors disclosed no outside funding sources or conflicts of interest.
