mikechamberslive.com | WASHINGTON – Extreme obesity among American children is much worse than previously believed, putting them at greater risk of serious health problems as they age, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

A study of more than 700,000 children and teens in southern California found that more than 6 percent, or 45,000, were extremely obese and more boys than girls were far too heavy, the researchers reported in the Journal of Pediatrics.

“This study is unique because it is the first time that we’ve had a large up-to-date snapshot of what’s happening with obesity in our children,” co-author Dr. Amy Porter of Kaiser Permanente health care system said in a video statement.

“The prevalence of obesity in children is much higher than we ever thought it was” Porter said. She said the study also showed that extreme obesity was rising in almost every group.

It found that 7 percent of boys and 5 percent of girls were extremely obese, as were more than 2 percent of all children under 5 years old