Updated at 5:30 p.m. to adjust y-axis units on graph and to add second map.
It's not a big change, but it's at least in the right direction.
According to a new report released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of obesity among low-income preschoolers (ages 2-4) declined by at least one percentage point over the period from 2008 to 20011 in 18 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
That includes Missouri, where rates of preschool obesity dropped from 13.9 to 12.9 percent.
The report used weight and height data from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System for about 11.6 million low-income children aged 2–4 years from 40 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories.
You can find more information from the CDC on how to reduce childhood obesity, here.
Follow Véronique LaCapra on Twitter: @KWMUScience
