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When junk food, fast food, sugary drinks, and breakfast cereals that are 56 percent sugar by weight meet video games, televisions in bedrooms, and a walking-averse culture, the outcome shouldn’t be that surprising. About 17 percent of children between 2 and 19 in the United States are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s more than 12 million kids, and triple the rate from just one generation ago.

 

Although the rapidly skyrocketing rate has slowed its ascent in recent years, the numbers are still staggering, and public health experts (and anyone with common sense) expect for long-term health risks to ensue.

Childhood diabetes type-2 is on the rise. And obese children are more likely to grow into obese adults, carrying a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

 

But amidst the troubling conundrum, some very good news has been revealed. A number of states are reporting actual declines in childhood obesity rates. Big cities like New York and Los Angeles, and smaller spots like Anchorage, Alaska, and Kearney, Neb, have noted the change. And although the dips are small, mostly single-digit percentages, they provide the first sign that one the country’s most stubborn health problems may be relenting

 

“It’s been nothing but bad news for 30 years, so the fact that we have any good news is a big story,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, the health commissioner in New York City.

 

Obesity is more widely reported for low-income children than those from affluent families – 20 percent of low-income children are obese as compared to 12 percent from affluent families – and the current declines appear to be focused in high-income, mostly white areas.

 

But Philadelphia, which has the highest big-city poverty rate in the country, reported that its obesity drop occurred mostly among minorities. According to The New York Times, obesity among 120,000 students in Philadelphia measured between 2006 and 2010 declined by 8 percent among black boys and by 7 percent among Hispanic girls, compared with a 0.8 percent decline for white girls and a 6.8 percent decline for white boys.

 

Philadelphia has taken assertive action in controlling sugar and junk food in the public schools, and administrations have shifted the whole paradigm there – comprehensive moves like offering erasers instead of candy for rewards and swapping healthy foods for sugar-heavy bake sale treats.

 

Although experts say that is too early to tell whether the trend will remain, the First Lady should be proud.

 

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