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1 in 8 kids obese by kindergarten

By eighth grade, 1 in 5 U.S. students is obese and another 17 percent are overweight.

By Michelle Fay Cortez | Updated on January 30, 2014
Children's Medical Center employee Terry Wade, left, lines up others behind EmmaLee Duckworth, center, 5, to play in a game of kickball during a program at Children's Medical Center in Dallas (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — One in eight children in the United States is obese when they enter kindergarten, with the ratio increasing through the elementary school years, a nationwide study found.

By eighth grade, 1 in 5 U.S. students is obese and another 17 percent are overweight, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Most of the increase takes place before fifth grade, giving researchers key information about the obesity epidemic among American children and the ages at which they are most vulnerable.

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