The following is a statement by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

According to new National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, the prevalence of obesity and overweight among children and adolescents has not changed significantly between 2003 and 2006.

The apparent stabilization of childhood obesity rates over the last four years is encouraging, but we must not allow this new data to lull us into a sense of complacency. If obesity rates among children have hit a plateau, that plateau is still far too high.

The obesity rate is more than four times higher among children ages 6 to 11 than it was four decades  ago. During the same time period, the rate has more than tripled among teens ages 12 to 19, and more than doubled among children ages 2 to 5. Today, nearly one-third of all children and adolescents in our country (more than 23 million youth) remain overweight or obese, placing them at heightened risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and a host of other serious diseases.

The NHANES statistics released today remind us of the urgency of the epidemic—older children are struggling with their weight more than ever before and racial/ethnic disparities remain. We must do all we can to make it easier for children to be active and eat healthy foods—especially in communities with the highest rates of obesity and the fewest resources.

The stabilization of childhood obesity rates may signal that this national epidemic is not an unstoppable force. When parents, government, schools, the food and beverage industries, other businesses, and the non-profit and philanthropic sectors work together, we can make progress, and we can reverse this epidemic.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.