Nearly half of all Louisiana children old enough to go to school are dangerously overweight.
Now, Louisiana State University researcher Melinda Sothern says there's more.
"I'm seeing high liver fat, high belly fat, and all of the other bio-markers related to diabetes and heart disease," she explains.
The LSU study shows obese kids between seven and nine had nearly three times the liver fat of kids who weren't overweight.
Some now believe the disease-causing process linked to liver fat may start even before kids go to school --- going all the way back to what Mom ate when she was pregnant or whether she used a bottle or breast fed.
By the time kids turn seven, Sothern says, they're already fighting an uphill battle.
"Unfortunately, the minute the children walk out the door in the morning, the rest of the world is trying to make them overweight," she observes.
While some school lunch programs have improved, there's still the stuff kids eat before and after class, which is a major reason why so many kids are overweight.
This study shows that childhood obesity starts sooner than anyone thought. The life-threatening consequences do, too.
Many believe these findings should be a wake-up call for parents and doctors everywhere to step up and help kids lower their risk of obesity related diseases . . . sooner, rather than later.
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