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This study examines trends in overweight and obesity in low-income children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) between 2010 and 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors respond to comments on their research which showed a decline in obesity among low-income children between 2010 and 2016. Topics discussed include limitations of body mass index (BMI) as a surrogate of adiposity, the association between height and excess weight among children, unadjusted correlation between height and BMI and association of childhood height with body fatness assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

The article focuses on a study which reveals the trends associated with the prevalence of extreme obesity among U.S. preschool-aged children living in low-income families. It states that the study included 27.5 million children aged two to four years from 30 states in the U.S. According to the study, the prevalence of obesity increased from 13.05 percent in 1998 to 15.21 percent in 2003 but extreme obesity decreased to 2.07 percent in 2010. It mentions that obesity can cause heart diseases and other health related problems. It further presents two tables which list the prevalence of obesity among African American children and American children in the U.S. from 1998 to 2010.

The article reports on the extent of beverage consumption among high school students in the U.S. in 2010, based on data from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study analyzed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to results, 24.3 percent of students drank a serving of regular soda or pop, while 16.1 percent drank a serving of sports drink, and 16.9 percent drank a serving of another sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) one or more times per day during the same period. A higher number of male students appeared to drink SSBs compared to females, and African American students were more likely to consume SSBs than white and Hispanic students. INSET: What is already known on this topic?.