About 2% of toddlers from low-income households receiving federal assistance had severe obesity in 2020, a rate that was higher than several years earlier, according to a new study.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study comes as Congress considers funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which helps children from low-income families access healthy food.
The CDC analyzed data on severe obesity in children ages 2-4 years enrolled in WIC from 2010 to 2020. Severe obesity was defined as at or above 120% of the 95th percentile on CDC growth charts or a body mass index of 35 or higher. Findings were reported Monday in “Trends in Severe Obesity Among Children Aged 2 to 4 Years in WIC: 2010 to 2020” (Zhao L, et al. Pediatrics. Dec. 18, 2023).
About 2.1% of toddlers in the WIC program had severe obesity in 2010. The rate dropped to 1.8% in 2016 but rose to 2% in 2020. All sociodemographic groups saw an increase from 2016 to 2020 except American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) and white children whose rates were stable. Four-year-olds and Hispanic children had the highest increase in their rate of severe obesity. Those two subgroups and AI/AN children had the highest prevalence of severe obesity across all study years.
Authors acknowledged the rate increase is small but said it is concerning given the links between severe obesity and health issues like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome.
A variety of factors could have played a role in the increased rates, including state social resources for families, access to healthy food, opportunities for physical activity and breastfeeding support, according to the study. Authors called for children to have quality treatment such as the intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment recommended in the AAP clinical practice guideline (CPG) on obesity.
“Ensuring that children and families from low-income households have access to early clinical detection, and referrals to effective and sustainable family-based interventions, could help promote healthy child growth,” they wrote.
In a related commentary, two authors of the AAP clinical practice guideline called for urgent action on the CDC’s findings.
“Interventions, whether aimed at preventing or treating early life obesity, will be the most effective if they follow the general principles of the 2023 American Academy of Pediatrics CPG, including whole-child care, addressing social and structural drivers of health, and providing non-stigmatizing options for families,” they wrote.
The findings come amid a new report showing that without additional funding for the WIC program, about 2 million eligible young children and parents may be turned away. The AAP is urging its members to contact members of Congress to call for increased funding by the Jan. 19 deadline. Last month, the AAP and 57 of its chapters also sent a letter to congressional leaders with that message.
“No eligible woman, infant, or child should miss out on the nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to health care and social services that WIC provides,” the AAP letter reads. “ … The WIC program has proven effective at reducing obesity in young children and it played a vital role for families during the infant formula shortage crisis. We cannot afford to put WIC at risk for families with young children.”
Resources
- AAP Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obesity
- AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight
- Bright Futures health initiative
- Information for parents from HealthyChildren.org on obesity
