# No really! Files: Obesity begins early.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-really-files-obesity-begins-early/680101>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 30, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-really-files-obesity-begins-early/680101 "2014-01-30T03:44:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-really-files-obesity-begins-early/680101/1 "2014-01-30T03:44:46Z")

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[“Surprising”?](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/science/obesity-takes-hold-early-in-life-study-finds.html?hp&_r=0) Really New York Times? No, expected and previously established.

Fat kids become fat teens become fat adults by and large (so to speak).

> [@](#):
>
> The risk that fat kindergartners would be obese in eighth grade was four to five times that of their thinner classmates, the study found.

Not sure if this is the right forum because really I am just ranting. No this is [not new](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18331423) and [not surprising.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19922043) And while poor interventions, aimed at the kids alone, are ineffective, it is not true that the horse has left the barn and that only expensive interventions work. The key for intervention and prevention both is focusing on the family as the environment to control. And it is working. Childhood obesity rates are not only no longer increasing; [they are decreasing.](http://www.rwjf.org/en/research-publications/find-rwjf-research/2013/09/signs-of-progress.html)

> [@](#):
>
> … A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows widespread progress in reducing obesity among preschool children enrolled in federal health and nutrition programs. This is the first time in decades that rates have dropped among young children from low-income families, who typically have higher rates of childhood obesity.
> 
> Among the places with declines, the U.S. Virgin Islands had the greatest decrease, from 13.6 percent in 2008 to 11 percent in 2011. Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Dakota saw rates drop by at least one percentage point during that period. Rates remained stable in 20 states and Puerto Rico and increased in only three states - Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. …
> 
> … California, Mississippi, New Mexico, and West Virginia have documented statewide declines in childhood obesity rates. The time period for progress and the ages of the children showing improvement are different for each state, but all of the reports are based on real measurements of height and weight from a large number of children. The declines range from a 1.1 percent drop among students in grades 5, 7, and 9 in California, to a 13.3 percent decline among K-5 students in Mississippi.

Yes, it takes promoting healthy eating habits _from even before birth_ (what pregnant mom eats matters) on. Yes it takes consistent messaging across systems and supporting healthy choices in the kids’ environments (including but not restricted to schools) but it _has_ been happening and it _is_ beginning to show real results.

“Surprising” that the best way to deal with adult obesity long term is prevent it from occuring in the first place by preventing \*kids \*from becoming obese? Gimmee a break.