A panel of US health experts is urging more aggressive moves to fight childhood obesity, including a recommendation for intensive counseling. On Tuesday, the US Preventive Services Task Force released guidelines in JAMA that suggest "comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions" for children and teens 6 years of age and older who have a BMI that's in the 95th percentile or higher.
- Obesity in America: According to the CDC, nearly 15 million children and adolescents in the US between the ages of 2 and 19 are categorized as obese, leading to more than $1 billion in health care spending annually, per the Washington Post.