Obesity rates in poor children have fallen in the U.S. over the past several years.
In the U.S., one out of every eight children are obese, for poor families it is one in every seven, the New York Times reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that claimed obesity rates were dropping in low-income two to four-year olds.
Experts aren't sure why this drop is happening now, but it could be from and increased rate of breastfeeding and a retreat from sugary drinks.
Parents also tend to be more educated on the health consequences of obesity.
The authors of the report studied data from 40 states and several territories, they compiled data on the height and weight measurements of children who participate in "federally funded maternal and child nutrition programs."
"This is the first time we have this many states in the U.S. showing a decline," Heidi Blanck, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an author of the report, said. "This is really broad. Until now it's been a patchwork."
"We really think this is how we're going to curb the epidemic, by getting really young children," she said.
When the researchers examined the data in 2009, they found nine states had obesity declines and 24 had an increased rate, now the opposite is true.
The improvements have been fairly small, none of the states showed a decline of more than one percent.
Another factor in the decline could be an increased government effort to fight obesity through local and federal policies, though many doubt the success rate of these programs.
Tom Baranowski, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, doesn't believe the government programs make much of a difference.
"It could be that we are hitting some sort of a biological limit," he said, "[In which] all those who are genetically predisposed to being obese already are."
