Study bolsters evidence that severe obesity increasing in young US kids

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children. There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates. Earlier research found rates had dropped a little for those children. But an update published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate up a bit to 2% by 2020. The increase echoes national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children are severely obese. The study involved young kids in the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides healthy foods and other services.