The vast majority of children who are obese at age 11 are still far too heavy at age 16, new research suggests.
Tracking nearly 4,000 children in three U.S. metropolitan areas over five years, researchers found that 83 percent of obese 10th graders had also been obese in fifth grade. Only 12 percent of kids who were obese in fifth grade transitioned to a normal weight over the following half-decade, according to the study.
"Parents sometimes think that it's just baby fat and their kids will outgrow it, but we found a lot more constancy [of extra weight over time] than we anticipated," said study author Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of general pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital.
"Certainly, once you've gained weight and become obese or overweight, it's harder to change the habits influencing that," he added. "But just because kids are gaining weight as they get older doesn't mean they can't lose weight -- they definitely can."
The study was published online Nov. 10 and in the December print issue of the journal Pediatrics.
[For more of this story, written by Maureen Salamon, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...that-way-693545.html]
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