A plunge in U.S. preschool obesity? Not so fast, experts say

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) – If the news last month that the prevalence of obesity among American preschoolers had plunged 43 percent in a decade sounded too good to be true, that's because it probably was, researchers say. First Lady Michelle Obama and others seized on the finding as a sign that efforts to combat the national obesity epidemic were paying off. But as obesity specialists take a closer look at the data, some are questioning the 43 percent claim, suggesting that it may be a statistical fluke and pointing out that similar studies find no such decrease in obesity among preschoolers. In fact, based on the researchers' own data, the obesity rate may have even risen rather than declined.