California Kids Obesity Rates Dropping

OKLAHOMA CITYObesity rates are dropping in some California adolescents for the first time in nearly three decades, according to a new study from researchers in California and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Researchers reviewed records for more than 8 million fifth-, seventh- and ninth-grade students who underwent California's school-based BMI screening between 2001 and 2008. Logistic regression identified trends in prevalence of high BMI (85th, 95th, 97th, and 99th percentiles).

The findings, published in the September 2010 issue of Pediatrics, revealed a peak of obesity for all groups combined around 2005. On a statewide basis the proportion of obese boys in all ethnic groups declined or reached a plateau by 2008 except for the most severely obese. Hispanic, black and American Indian girls had a higher rate of obesity than Caucasian, and only Caucasian girls saw a drop by 2008. The obesity rates for American Indian and black girls continued to climb.