Obesity persists in children and adolescents in the United States

Washington, 26 Apr 2016 (AFP) - The high rates of obesity in American children and adolescents, a phenomenon that began about thirty years and deepened alarmingly since persists without any retreat signal, according to a study published on Tuesday.

"Specific recent studies suggest that juvenile obesity begins to decrease, but we found no evidence to confirm this trend in the United States in any of the groups of children and adolescents 2-19 years," laments Asheley Skinner, a professor at Duke University ( North Carolina, southeastern US), lead author of the study.

"This is particularly evident for the most severe form of obesity, which remains high, especially among teenagers," he added.

To do this study, published in the journal Obesity, the authors analyzed data from a national survey on health and nutrition, covering several decades.

The study finds that in the period 2013-2014, 33.4% of young people from 2 to 19 years were overweight, of which 17.4% were obese.

These percentages do not differ statistically from those recorded in the previous period, from 2011 to 2012, and show that in all categories of overweight and obesity figures maintained their upward trend between 1999 and 2014, realize the researchers.

"The most discouraging is the increased frequency of severe forms of obesity," said Asheley Skinner.

In an adult, obesity is defined by a body mass index (BMI, which is calculated by dividing weight by height squared) greater than 35. A normal BMI ranges from 18.5 to 25.

In the period 2012-2014, 6.3% of young Americans had a BMI of at least 35, considered class II obesity. About 2.5% were obese severe with BMI of 40 or more, which is defined as obesity class III.

Among adults, the rate of obesity continues to rise and reached 27.7% in 2014, according to estimates by the Gallup Institute, published in 2015. This is the highest level since 2008 (25.5%), when the institute began this study.

Skinner warns that obesity "is really a public health problem that needs to change in many ways."

The researcher highlights including a food policy, access to health care - many children and teens do not have medical coverage - school programs should include physical education, as well as the creation of parks, trails to run and bike paths in urban areas to encourage the exercise.