Arkansas' Childhood Obesity Rate Drops Slightly
Location: Little Rock
Posted: August 16, 2006 12:14 PM EST
URL:
http://www.katv.com/news/stories//353211.html
Little Rock (AP) - Three years after Arkansas became the first state in the country to weigh its school children and send the numbers home to parents, the percentage of overweight kids has dropped slightly.
The percentage of Arkansas school children who were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight was 37.5 percent this year, down from 38.1 percent three years ago. Governor Huckabee announced the statistics Wednesday. He says it is clear that the state is leading the nation in efforts to stop childhood obestity.
According to the latest figures, the percentage of overweight students dropped from 20.9 percent in 2003-2004, the first year of the program, to 20.4 percent in 2005-2006.The percentage of students at risk of becoming overweight was down from 17.2 percent to 17.1 percent. Arkansas began weighing students in 2004 to determine their body-mass index.
The index is an indicator of whether people carry an appropriate amount of weight for their height. Several states, including California, Florida and Pennsylvania, have adopted similar anti-fat programs.
Childhood Obesity Rates Drop 
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