US Obesity Rates May Be Leveling Off.

New data indicating that US obesity rates have stabilized generated extensive news coverage, including segments on two national networks, with many sources contrasting the high prevalence of obesity with the fact that rates are not climbing.

        NBC Nightly News (1/17, story 6, 2:45, Williams) reported, "In new numbers just out, the CDC finds about one in three American adults and one in six kids and teenagers in this country are heavy enough to be considered obese." The CBS Evening News (1/17, story 8, 0:20, Pelley) reported that "these are about the same levels as in 2003."

        The AP  (1/18) reports that two "CDC reports summarize results of national health surveys in children and adults, which are conducted every two years." According to the AP, "The 2009-2010 reports involved nearly 6,000 adults and about 4,000 children, from infancy through age 19." The findings "were released online in the Journal of the American Medical Association."

        USA Today  (1/18, Hellmich) reports in "Your Life" that, according to the data, "The average body mass index (BMI) of men rose to 28.7 in 2010 up from 27.7 in 2000," while "the average BMI" of women "remained unchanged at about 28.5."

        The Los Angeles Times  (1/18, Roan) reports that the "new statistics cited in" the "two papers report only a slight uptick since 2005 -- leaving public health experts tentatively optimistic that they may be gaining some ground in their efforts to slim down the nation." It isn't "clear why obesity rates are still rising in some groups while stabilizing in others, said Cynthia L. Ogden, a coauthor of the two papers and a researcher at the CDC. But the best bet of some leading obesity experts is that obesity prevention initiatives in some pockets of the country are paying off."

        The New York Times  (1/18, Parker-Pope) "Well" blog reports that "Although from a statistical standpoint, overall obesity rates haven't changed in more than a decade, the latest analysis did detect some changes in the prevalence of obesity in certain groups." For example, "men and boys have become fatter since 1999, and so have non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American women." While "those trends were only recently detected in the data, there have been no significant increases in obesity prevalence since the 2003-4 survey."

        The San Francisco Chronicle  /Bloomberg News (1/18, Flinn) reports, "The rate among women didn't significantly change over the time period, finishing at 35.8 percent." The researchers found that, "among all sexes and age groups, women 60 and older had the highest prevalence, with 42.3 percent." The "obesity rates for boys ages 2 to 19 rose to 18.6 percent in 2009-2010 from 14 percent in 1999-2000, while the rate for girls was little changed at 15 percent."

        The Washington Post  (1/18, Kliff) "Wonkblog" writes that "why the obesity rates have stayed constant is difficult for researchers to say. Some point to the growth of public health interventions, like bans on vending machines in schools or mandating recess for younger children." Meanwhile, "health insurance companies have also gotten more aggressive in using wellness interventions and offering weight loss programs."

        Also covering the story are the Wall Street Journal  (1/18, McKay) "Health Blog," Reuters  (1/18, Pittman), MedPage Today  (1/18, Fiore), WebMD  (1/18, Rubin), and HealthDay  (1/18, Gordon).