Study: U.S. kid, teen obesity stabilized

HYATTSVILLE, Md., May 27 (UPI) -- The number of obese or overweight American children has stabilized at about one out of three youngsters, researchers say.

A report by the National Center for Health Statistics, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the prevalence of high body mass index among children and adolescents showed no significant changes between 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006. In fact, the report says there were no significant trends between 1999 and 2006.

Height and weight measurements were obtained from 8,165 children and adolescents as part of the 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey -- nationally representative surveys of the U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized population.

The report says that overall, in the 2003-2006 period, 11.3 percent of children ages 2 to 19 were at or above the 97th percentile -- considered very obese -- 16.3 percent were at or above the 95th percentile -- considered obese -- and 31.9 percent were at or above the 85th percentile -- considered overweight.

The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.