Study: Obesity in Children From Kindergarten-5th Grade Increased When Compared With Prior Decade

A Pediatrics study that examined obesity incidence in children between kindergarten and 5th grade found that the rates of obesity increased and at more severe levels than in children who were tracked at the same age 12 years earlier. The study, “Changes in the Incidence of Childhood Obesity,” published in the August 2022 Pediatrics (published online July 5) reviewed data in children ages 6-11 from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies. The researchers followed nationally representative kindergarten cohorts in 1998 and 2010 at multiple time-points through 5th grade in 2004 and 2016, respectively. Trained interviewers measured height and weight to compute body mass index (BMI). The age-specific incidence of childhood obesity during primary school grew higher during the 2000s compared to a decade earlier, occurred at younger ages, and is reaching more severe levels, according to the study’s results. They found that 72.9% of children entering kindergarten in 1998 had normal BMI, while 15.1% had overweight and 12% had obesity. Twelve years later, the percentage of children starting school with a normal BMI has decreased to 69%. The percentage entering kindergarten with overweight in 2010 had not changed substantially, at 15.7%, but the percentage that already had obesity increased to 15.3%. The authors found social disparities in obesity incidence expanded, as 29% more Black children developed obesity by 5th grade in the later cohort compared to the earlier one, while obesity incidence remained unchanged or decreased in other race and ethnicity groups. The authors call for more focused efforts in research and in policies aimed at pre-school children.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.