BALTIMORE – Rates of obesity, particularly severe obesity, in children have not decreased since 1999, despite what recent studies may say, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
“Overall, there is no evidence of a decrease in obesity in any of our age groups,” said Asheley C. Skinner, Ph.D., of Duke University in Durham, N.C., adding that “we see a sort of consistent, ongoing increase up through 2014 for severe obesity and regular class I obesity for all of our age groups.”
In a video interview, Dr. Skinner discussed the findings of her study, in which data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from the years 1999-2014 were examined to determine obesity in children aged 2-19 years. A combination of body mass index (BMI) and “a percentage of the 95th percentile” of weight across three age groups – 2-5 years, 6-11 years, and 12-19 years – was used to classify children with class I, class II, or class III (severe) obesity.
Dr. Skinner did not report any relevant financial disclosures.