06/18/2026
📓A recent study published in Obesity, the journal of The Obesity Society, applied the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission’s new definition criteria to examine NHANES data for youth aged 5-18.
💡The results suggest substantial physiological dysfunction in U.S. youth. Applying preclinical and clinical obesity definition was found to be challenging, given the limitations of the routinely collected clinical and epidemiological data that comprise NHANES and in standard clinical practice.
🔎Read the article: https://ow.ly/jNHJ50Zek5E
What the researchers are saying:
“I feel fortunate to be part of this important work and to contribute to one of the first national studies incorporating the new Lancet Commission definition. We hope these findings help advance a more meaningful understanding of pediatric obesity and support earlier identification and intervention for youth at risk," commented Dr. Priyanka Chaudhary, former Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Pennington Biomedical and current Postdoctoral Research Fellow at TSET Health Promotion Research Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Amanda Staiano, professor and director of the Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical, said, “This is the first published study to estimate the prevalence of pediatric obesity using the new Lancet Commission definitions of preclinical and clinical obesity. The findings show that many children are already experiencing measurable health impairments associated with obesity, while others are at elevated risk and may benefit from earlier intervention and monitoring.”
