Overweight and obesity among 4-year-olds in Australia has increased 30 percent among males and 66 percent among females according to a new study.

Playing electronic games, watching television, having a mother who works or a parent who smokes are all associated with an increased risk of a child being obese according to a new study from Switzerland.

Among low-income children, a mother’s obesity in early pregnancy more than doubles the risk of obesity for the child at the age of 2- to 4-years-old according to a new study from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

In 1999-2002, among U.S. children 6- to 19-years-old, 31% were overweight or obese, and 16% were obese according to a new paper from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

HYPERTENSION was 8.5 times as prevalent in overweight adolescents as in their lean peers according to a recent study.

Childhood obesity is probably far worse than previously thought according to data from Arkansas where, by law, schools must measure and report a child’s body mass index (BMI) to parents. Forty percent of Arkansas schoolchildren are overweight, and 22 percent obese. Previously it was believed that about 30 percent of children nationwide were overweight or obese and 15 percent were obese.

Children who eat ready-to-eat cereals most often weigh less than those who eat it less often according to study from General Mills.

As of 1999-2000, the prevalence of overweight among adolescents 12- to 19-years-old highest for Mexican-American boys.

As of 1999-2000, the prevalence of overweight among children 6- to 11-years-old is highest among Mexican-American boys.

As of 1999-2000, the prevalence of overweight among children 2- to 5-years-old is lowest among black boys.

As of 1999-2000, the prevalence of overweight among babies under the age of 2-years-old is highest among blacks.

Depression is much more prevelant among obese adolescents than those who are lean according to a review paper by Stunkard et al (2003) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Fatty foods are associated with more weight gain in preschool-aged children, whereas the consumption of breads and grains are associated with less weight gain according to a study from Harvard University in Boston, Mass.

“Young children whose parents are overweight are 13 to 15 times more likely to become obese young adults regardless of the child’s [current weight],” according to William H. Dietz, M.D., Ph.D. from the Centers for Disease Control.

The prevalence of overweight among U.S. children in 1999-2000 was:

• 10.4% among children 2- to 5-year-olds,
• 15.3% among children 6- to 11-year-olds,
• 15.5% among children 12- to 19-year-olds.

Childhood obesity increases the risk of disease and death as an adult according to a recent study.

Only about 25 percent of adult obesity begins in childhood, however, childhood obesity leads to more severe obesity in adults according to a new study.

OBESE PARENTS ARE MORE COMMON among obese females than obese males, and are more common in blacks than whites.

A CHILD’S FAT INTAKE seems to be influenced by an obese mother, but not an obese father, according to a recent study.

Forty-five percent of girls and 20 percent of boys report having been on a diet at some point.

The prevleance of overweight in children ages 2- to 19-years-old is 2.8 times greater than it was in 1971-1974 according to a recent study.

In order to help children lose weight, it is more effective to treat the parents than the children according to a new study.

“In boys, high intake of protein in infancy could also contribute to childhood obesity,” concludes a new study.

TIME SPENT PLAYING VIDEO GAMES and watching television is associated with levels of body fat in children.

ADULTS WHO WERE OBESE AS CHILDREN have an increased risk of mortality independent of their adult weight.