Even toddlers in the United States are obese, and they are not only overweight, but are showing early signs of diabetes and other diseases associated with being fat, researchers said on Saturday.

To their alarm, the researchers found that sending such children to a specialist did not seem to help them get to healthier weights.

"Perhaps the epidemic of obesity can be stopped if we intervene very early with an intensive behavioral modification program," Dr. Emily Liu of Kaleida Health's Women's and Children's Hospital in Buffalo, New York, said in a statement.

"Children at risk of obesity must be identified very early, even at the preschool level," said Liu, who led the study. "Obese children often have obese parents, so an effective family-based multi-factor intervention program should begin as soon as obesity is diagnosed."

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