Scientists have thought for years that progress had been made toward curbing severe childhood obesity in the United States. But new findings appear to tip that scale in the other direction.
A new study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, found that since 2013, "severe obesity" in the U.S. in children between the ages of 2 to 5 has increased significantly. Obesity is measured by an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI), or ratio of height to weight. The researchers analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention across age groups, and combined that analysis with "in-home" examinations to determine that the number of obese children is increasing.
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