Offering Breakfast in the Classroom and Children’s Weight Outcomes

Obesity is a serious health problem for many children in the United States. Approximately 32% of US children aged 2 to 19 years have overweight or obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥85th percentile), and nearly 8% of infants and toddlers younger than 2 years have a weight-for-length at the 95th percentile or greater,¹ predisposing them to obesity.^2,3 Obesity leads to serious, lifelong medical and psychosocial problems and premature death.⁴ These consequences disproportionately affect racial/ethnic minority groups and low-income communities, where obesity is most pronounced.⁵ Despite previous reports that childhood obesity has remained stable or decreased, more recent evidence shows that the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity is unfortunately increasing, especially among preschool-aged children.⁶