According to a new study,  "Trends in Severe Obesity Among Children Aged 2 to 4 Years in WIC: 2010 to 2020," the growing obesity in American children under five is irreversible. Food insecurity, poor sleep habits, fast food and too much screen time are just a few of the contributors to the growing number of American children between the ages of 2 and 4 being diagnosed with severe obesity. The new study finds that it "is strongly associated with high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, prediabetes, and early mortality."

Severe obesity is defined as having a sex-specific body mass index for one's age greater than or equal to the 95th percentile on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts. The study was led by Lixia Zhao from the CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention where they examined the prevalence and trends in severe obesity among 16.6 million children aged 2 to 4 years old enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children from 2010 to 2020.

Severe obesity declined from 2.1 percent in 2010 to 1.8 percent in 2016, but it increased to 2 percent in 2020. "From 2016 to 2020, the prevalence increased significantly overall and among sociodemographic subgroups, except for American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic white children. The largest increases occurred in 4-year-olds and Hispanic children," Zhao and the team noted.

In their commentary on the research titled "Severe Obesity in Toddlers: A Canary in the Coal Mine for the Health of Future Generations," researchers Dr. Sarah C. Armstrong of Duke University and Asheley C. Skinner warned readers that their findings should be of "great concern" because "there is little understanding about what effectively treats obesity before age 6 years."

"Severe obesity is different than milder forms of overweight and obesity; reliable and representative national data show that severe obesity in childhood is strongly associated with high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, prediabetes, and early mortality," wrote Armstrong and Skinner. "Thus, these new data from Zhao et al showing reversal of previous progress, with an increase in severe obesity in children aged 2 to 4 years, is a cause for great concern for policymakers, clinicians, and public health professionals."