Childhood Obesity Rates Decreasing

Good news America. Last year a study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that childhood obesity rates were down for the first time in 30 years, and today, the CDC announces that childhood obesity has decreased in 18 states. It's back-patting time.

According to their data collected from 11.6 million low-income 2- to 4-year-old children from 40 states, only three states had a significant increase in childhood obesity: Colorado, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. (Colorado typically has the lowest obesity rate in the nation, so we'll give them a pass.)

Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Dakota, and the U.S. Virgin Islands had the largest decreases in obesity (at least 1 percent), but California, Washington, Idaho, New Mexico, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts also showed improvement.

In the remaining states, obesity remained steady. "Although obesity remains epidemic, the tide has begun to turn for some kids in some states," director Thomas Friedan told USA Today. "While the changes are small, for the first time in a generation they are going in the right direction." Perhaps all the focus on school lunches and nutrition is actually helping?