Rate of severe childhood obesity up sharply in U.S.

Move along. No surprise here. Nothing to see. Move along.

"The rate of severe obesity among U.S. children and teenagers more than tripled over the past three decades, a new study finds.

Using data from a long-running government health survey, researchers found that as of 2004, nearly 4 percent of 2- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. were severely obese...

'Children are not only becoming obese, but becoming severely obese, which impacts their overall health,' lead researcher Dr. Joseph A. Skelton, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in a news release from the university."

As if this isn't bad enough, here is the boneheaded solution advocated by the researchers:

"'These findings,' he added, 'reinforce the fact that medically-based programs to treat obesity are needed throughout the United States and insurance companies should be encouraged to cover this care.'"

Clearly this is not the solution, will never be the solution and the researcher...well, he belongs behind bars for being the lawbreaker he is, IMHO.

And in CAPTA's HO, too.