It seems that telling our kids “no” to some of the sodas and candy has really paid off.

Federal health authorities reported Tuesday that childhood obesity rates in children ages 2-5 are down by 43%, which is much lower than expected, according to the New York Times.

“This is the first time we’ve seen any indication of any significant decrease in any group,” said Cynthia Ogden, researcher for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is also the author of the report, which will be published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, on Wednesday. “It was exciting.”

Exciting, for sure. A few states have reported some underwhelming progress toward eliminating childhood obesity in recent years, but nothing like this.

Experts say that the reason for the sharp fall is really beyond understanding. Is Michelle Obama really having the kind of effect that she wanted to have on this serious issue? She has worked to lead a push to change young children’s eating and exercise habits. Over 10,000 child care centers across the country have signed on to implement her Let’s Move program.

The science on whether or not a program like Mrs. Obamas can really affect society as a whole and that society’s bad habits is foggy at best. However, supporters of her program say that a good system applied regularly becomes the new habit and can change the way a society does things.

Mrs. Obama commented on the impressive new numbers Tuesday saying,

“I am thrilled at the progress we’ve made over the last few years in obesity rates among our youngest Americans.”

The trend is an encouraging one as research shows that if kids are overweight in those young and habit-forming years, they are about 5 times as likely to be overweight, or even obese, adults. They are also much more likely to have issues with cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Yay! Go us!

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