Are we reaching the end of the growing epidemic of childhood obesity?

The New York Times recently reported childhood obesity has recently reached a platue after a rising climb of more than two decades. This new found hope is greeted with guarded optism. It is still unclear whether the lull in childhood weight gain is permanent or if there is any prevelance of public anti-obesity efforts to limit junk food and increase physical activity in schools.

According to Dr. David Luwig, director of the childhood obesity program at Children’s Hospital in Boston, “After 25 years of extraordinarily bad news about childhood obesity, this study provides a glimmer of hope. But it’s much too soon to know whether this is a true plateau in prevalence or just a temporary lull.”

The most recent data is based on two surveys — one in 2003 to 2004 and one in 2005 to 2006 — that included 8,165 children ages 2 to 19. In that group, about 16 percent of children and teenagers were obese, which is defined as having a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile on United States growth charts. By comparison, about 5 percent of children and teenagers in the United States were obese in the 1960s and 1970s. The good news is that from a statistical standpoint, obesity rates have not increased since 1999.

Researchers can not give a clear explanation for the leveling off of childhood obesity rates. One concern is that the lull could represent a natural platue, but data collected from various obesity programs around the country suggests the trends may be real.