Kids are getting fatter, and many will have to do some serious calorie cutting to avoid that fate as they grow up.

Thats the grim news from a new study that looks at how children have become heaver since 1971. Its not news that the number of obese children has doubled since the 1970s, with 1 in 6 now officially obese.

Whats new is that these researchers calculated just how much less a child would have to eat on average to stop the trend towards obesity.

Lets do the math.

According to this new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, children and teens need to cut their calorie intake by 41 calories a day, to stop the weight gain trend. Otherwise, children and teens will weigh about four pounds more across the board.

But theyd have to cut those calories just to stop getting heavier. The federal government really wants children to be slimmer than they are now. The feds originally wanted to lower obesity rates so that just 5 percent of children were obese in 2010, the same percentage as back in the 1970s.

To reach the 5 percent goal, Americas children would have had to have cut an average of 120 calories a day – 33 calories for preschoolers, 149 calories for grade-schoolers, and 177 calories a day for teens.

Fat Thanks to Sona S. for the tip!

Kids Will Have To Cut Serious Calories To Halt Obesity Trend : The Salt : NPR