Decline in obesity among young people (2 to 5 years old) in the USA
Michelle Obama welcomed, via Twitter, the decline in obesity among young people in the United States. An article published in the New York Times on February 26 (February 25 for the online version), actually reports a very encouraging decline.
Numbers
In the age group of 2 to 5 years, obesity has dropped by about 43%. This is the first time that a fall of this kind has occurred. These are very encouraging figures, especially when you know that a child who is overweight at this age has about 5x more risk than a normal child of also being overweight in adulthood.
» 14% of children aged 2 to 5 were obese in 2004
» 8% of children aged 2 to 5 were obese in 2014
A decrease of 43% therefore, between 2004 and between 2014.
These figures are based on a report that you will find in the sources of this article.
Michelle Obama’s campaign
These figures are very good news, which it is possible to attribute in part to Michelle Obama who fights a lot against childhood obesity. However, it should be noted that the decline took place between 2004 and 2014 and that the main campaign – “Let’s Move” – was only made public on February 9, 2010. Many other actions are of course carried out in parallel (the ex-mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, had also done a lot in terms of obesity).
But even if it is difficult to attribute merit to such and such an action, it is clear that Michelle Obama has done real work on the ground, and has devoted a lot of time to this campaign. The First Lady of the United States has done a lot (see sources). Even going so far as to involve her husband, the President of the United States. A video posted yesterday (February 27) encourages people to move more behind the slogan “Let’s Move”, and it shows the President and the Vice-President, in a “short film”! Communication actions that can have a real impact on the population.
If you take a look at the First Lady’s Twitter, you will see that many Tweets are devoted to these actions against obesity. We had also produced an article ( which you can find here ).
Recently, the First Lady also distinguished herself between… a broccoli and a carrot! A friendly wink and a real proof of courage.
Caution
It should be remembered, however, that this decrease only concerns the age group of 2 to 5 years. The scientists therefore recall that it is therefore a limited population, but which is nevertheless important because it is significant.
Only time will confirm this trend in this age group.
Remember also that despite this trend, 17% of young people in the United States are obese. This concerns about 30% of the adult population.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.