Health: Let’s Hope The Butt Stops Here

Everyone talks about it, but now pediatricians say they are determined to do something about it–the epidemic of childhood obesity, that is. In a no-nonsense policy statement devoted to the growing problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for its members to go beyond their routine tracking of height and weight. Pediatricians are being urged to identify children most at risk for obesity (taking into account birth weight, family history, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and other factors), then carefully track their body mass index–a ratio of weight to height–and watch for significant changes from year to year. Early intervention is key: University of Buffalo researchers have found that 86% of all obese children get that way before age 6. –D.B.