An expert in children's health says Australia's childhood obesity statistics have been overstated. Associate Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Sydney, Jenny O'Dea, first collected measurements and data from almost 5,000 school children in 2000. She says when a second round of measurements was taken in 2006, there had been very little overall growth in childhood obesity. Children from disadvantaged areas appeared to be most worse off when it comes to obesity, according to data. Dr O'Dea says ethnicity and social circumstances are heavily influencing the progression of childhood obesity. "The prevalence of obesity is higher in the low-income children and it's higher in the Pacific Islander, the Middle Eastern and the Aboriginal children," she said. "The increase since the six years since 2000 has only been in those low-income girls and boys." Dr O'Dea says Government funding for obesity prevention programs should be targeting the most high-risk children. "I'm not saying don't do anything for the other parts of Australian society, but you'll get more for your money if you target the really high-risk kids."
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