Childhood obesity gains, losses

Fewer Chicago kids entering kindergarten and first grade were obese in 2008 vs. five years earlier. But children in Chicago are still more likely to be fatter than kids nationwide and, by sixth grade, more than one in four kids here is obese.

Those are the key findings of a new study by the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children that suggests that efforts to fight childhood obesity in Chicago might be starting to have an effect but also reflects how daunting the problem is.

Efforts here to attack early childhood obesity "seem to be making a difference," said Adam Becker, executive director of the Chicago consortium, based at Children's Memorial Hospital. "But we still have a lot of work to do."

Those efforts include promoting healthy eating and getting physical activity.

Among kids 3 to 7 years old in Chicago schools, 22 percent were obese in 2008 vs. 24 percent in 2003.

No other major city has reported a similar decrease in this age group, though some are starting to see obesity rates level off, Becker said.

But the new report also found that, among Chicago students entering sixth grade, 28 percent were obese -- a sign that kids are getting fatter as they get older.

The new figures are based on school health examination forms for more than 4,500 children entering Chicago's public schools and Catholic schools run by the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Nationally, 10 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds and almost 20 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds are obese -- that hasn't changed much in a decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.