NEW YORK, NY April 06, 2006 —New York City's poorest children appear to be putting on weight at an alarming rate - and at a very early age. WNYC's Fred Mogul has more.

The Health Department looked at Head Start data and found more than 4 out of 10 of them are overweight and more than a quarter of them meet the federal standards for obesity. That's about twice the national obesity rate for this age group.

The Head Start group is made up of 2- to 4-year-olds who are below the poverty line. Economically challenged families are known to rely disproportionately on fast food and other relatively unhealthy foods. But that does not explain why among equally poor families, twice as many young black children are obese as white children. And the obesity rate among Latinos is even higher.

The city says more research needs to be done on genetic, cultural and environmental differences, but in the meantime, children need to be encouraged to exercise more and eat smaller portions of food with fewer fats and sugars. For WNYC, I'm Fred Mogul.