The obesity rate in children between ages two and five dropped by 43 percent over the past decade, the New York Times reported.
“This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group,” Cynthia Ogden, a researcher for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention report, told the Times.
About 8 percent of two to five-year olds were obese in 2012, compared to 14 percent in 2004, according to the report.
While there is evidence that child obesity leads to obesity later in life, Ogden said that the overall obesity rate has remained about the same.
Experts attributed the drop to multiple factors such as a reduction in children consuming sugary drinks and an increase in the number of women breast-feeding.
First Lady Michelle Obama, who launched her “Let’s Move!” campaign to combat childhood obesity in 2010, said she was pleased by the CDC’s findings.
“I am thrilled at the progress we’ve made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans,” she said in a CDC statement.
