Obesity Prevention at an Early Age

In recent decades obesity rates among US adults has climbed from 14% to 40%, with correspondingly high rates of obesity in children. Being overweight or obese in childhood is highly predictive of cardiometabolic disease in adults. The American Heart Association recently projected that by 2050 the adult prevalence of diabetes will increase from 16.3% to 26.8% and obesity from 43.1% to 60.6%, with obesity rates in children predicted to increase from 20.6% in 2020 to 33.0% in 2050 and with nearly 60% of children projected to have unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles. Obesity rates are higher in non-Hispanic Black populations and Hispanic populations.