Preschoolers slightly less fat

Obesity rates among low-income preschoolers in California and 18 other states decreased to a small degree between 2008 and 2011, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

For the study, researchers analyzed height and weight data for nearly 12,000 preschool children, finding that the rate of California’s low-income 2- to 4-year-olds who are obese decreased from 17.3 percent to 16.8 percent after decades on the rise. That figure, though, still eclipses the number of preschoolers nationally—12 percent—who are considered obese, according to SFGate.com.

Though the improvement was marginal, the study’s authors said the results are significant in that low-income children are a demographic at particular risk of obesity.