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Obesity Trends In Children
One of the greatest health concerns affecting our children is the epidemic of obesity and overweight. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that among young people, the prevalence of overweight increased from 5.0% to 13.9% for those aged 2-5 years, 6.5% to 18.8% for those aged 6-11 years, and 5.0% to 17.4% for those aged 12-19 years. No one group has escaped the epidemic of obesity; it transcends across gender, age, racial and ethnic groups. The prevalence of overweight or at risk of overweight from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is listed below.
National Health-E Statistics
Lucille Beseler, MS, RD, LD/N, CDE is a Registered Licensed Dietitian and a Certified Diabetes Educator with a Masters of Science Degree in Nutrition. She is the founder of the Family Nutrition Center of South Florida where her practice strongly believes that better health can be achieved through good nutrition. To purchase her book, Nurturing with Nutrition, an essential guide for feeding infants and toddlers, visit www.nutritionandfamily.com.
