While a recent federal report shows childhood obesity may finally be plateauing, Amador County students are still suffering from an epidemic that hasn't yet slowed.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims that obesity in children age 2 to 19 has leveled off and made no significant gains between 1999 and 2006.

The report, "High Body Mass Index for Age Among U.S. Children and Adolescents 2003-2006," is the latest analysis based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. Using today's standards, as many as 32 percent or more of America's children are overweight. In California alone, the percentage of overweight children and adolescents has increased to 6 percent.

"The long-term health consequences of obesity are very significant," said county Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann, who added that the average life span in the United States would decrease by the year 2050 due to obesity related issues.

Of the students in Amador County, the study showed that 18.5 percent of those enrolled are clinically overweight, a higher number than neighboring El Dorado County, which showed a rate of 16.5 percent overweight students. In complete contrast, Pioneer Elementary School ranked fourth this year in the Governor's Challenge Competition, which pitted 14 counties and close to 2,000 schools in physical fitness competitions.

"Children can't be told to eat healthy, then be sent into an environment that serves sodas, pizza or high-calorie fast food," said Kaiser-based nutritionist Seema Singh in an e-mail to the Ledger Dispatch. "Education is simply not enough."

The passage of assembly bills banning soda machines and junk foods on high school campuses was, on a local level, a "step in the right direction," according to Hartmann, as changes to nutrition and physical activity take time to achieve.

"It takes the entire community to reverse this trend," Hartmann added, "a whole conglomerate of efforts that begin with the family."

With no clear solutions in sight, even former Surgeon General Richard Carmona commented that "obesity is the terror within." He added that the magnitude of the dilemma will "dwarf 9/11," as it reaches into even the most remote corners of life.

A documentary titled "Killer at Large" and another member of the CDC have accused the report of underselling the health crisis. "The fact remains that, based on numbers, we still have millions of kids overweight," said Bryan Young, producer of the upcoming documentary. "With the small amount of money and effort the government is focusing on the obesity problem, it's obvious that their responses are not enough to combat the problem."

Statistically, the problem may not be getting worse, but Dr. Cynthia Ogden, a Ph.D.-level epidemiologist at the CDC and author of the report, commented that a third of the U.S. population is still obese. "There is some hope," she said, "but the best news will be when we see a decrease."