HHS HealthBeat (April 20, 2010)

Extreme obesity in kids

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Researchers say a large proportion of kids are growing large and out of proportion. A look at data on young people ages 2 to 19 years old says more than 7 percent of boys and more than 5 percent of girls are extremely obese.

Kaiser Permanente Researcher Amy Porter found this in records covering almost 711,000 children in Kaiser Permanente health care.

Porter says these kids could grow up to  have lifespans 10 to 20 years shorter if they don’t get their weight under control. But she also says it needs to be a family project:

"It isn’t just the one person who might have a weight problem. Everyone in the family will benefit from having a healthy lifestyle." (5 seconds)

The study in the Journal of Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011