Here is some news that might make you want to hold the birthday cake: Nearly one in five 4-year-old kids is obese, according to a public health study published in the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The obesity rates reported in the study, based on height/weight ratios, are particularly high for Native American children (31 percent). I don’t believe the paper is posted online yet, but you can read a research brief here.

image from two stout monks’ photostream at flickr.com/creativecommons