Preschooler Obesity Rate Down in Some States, But Not Here

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that obesity rates among low-income preschoolers (age 2-4 years old) declined in 18 states from 2008-2011. This is good news after decades of rising national obesity rates among this population. During that same time period, the preschooler obesity rate rose in three states and remained the same in 20, including Connecticut. (However, the obesity rate fell in two of Connecticut’s neighbor states: New York and Massachusetts.)

Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, told the Washington Post that changes to the 2009 federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program likely played a role in the obesity decline. (WIC provides food vouchers for low-income women and children up to age 5.) According to the Post article, in 2009, the program was altered to encourage recipients to purchase more whole grains, lower-fat dairy products, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Click here for a related OLR blog post on preschooler obesity in Hartford.