SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Department of Health says childhood obesity rates in the state may be beginning to level off after a downward trend in recent years.
The department says childhood obesity among third-graders dropped 16 percent between 2010 and 2015 while dropping 10 percent among kindergarteners, but each category increased slightly between 2014 and 2015.
According to the department, the increases noted between 2014 and 2015 are statistically insignificant.
Deputy Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher says the new data in the state's annual update indicates a possible leveling-off of childhood obesity rates.
She says state officials are proud of progress being made but that there's still work to be done because more than one in three third-graders and one in four kindergarteners are overweight or obese.