A recent report identifying rising obesity rates among the state’s elementary school children underscores the need for access to locally grown fruits and vegetables and exercise, health officials told Source NM.
The 2025 data showed 18.6% of kindergarteners are obese, and an obesity rate of 26.7% of third graders. Those rates reflect a 1.3% and 2.6% rise respectively compared with the year prior. Boys obesity rates measured 5.4% higher than girls in New Mexico schools.
The total share of kindergarteners who met the criteria for overweight or obese was 34.8% while 42.9% of third-grade students met the criteria.
She told Source NM Monday that the 2025 increase “does not constitute a pattern,” but said it could be due to a larger number of children sampled, more than 4,600, compared to nearly 3,000 evaluated the year before. However, she said, the results nonetheless reflect the state’s higher rates of child poverty and limited access to nutritional food and safe places to play.
“That period of time between kindergarten and third grade is where we need to really work on shaping healthy lifestyle behaviors,” Condon said. “Children grow and they can grow into healthy weights. That’s why we work in schools and early childhood programs because that’s where kids are.”
Condon cautioned that the report’s data is no longer “representative of the statewide obesity rates.” She said a lack of participation since the pandemic in 2020 from Albuquerque Public Schools, which accounts for a quarter of the state’s students, has skewed the data to reflect higher obesity rates since 2020.
APS Senior Director of Communications Martin Salazar acknowledged Source NM’s request for comment on the district’s lack of participation in the study, but said in a phone call Monday he would need “additional time” to respond.
While the data may not reflect the whole state, it nonetheless “can tell us that there’s real work to be done in our non-metro areas around healthy food access and physical activity opportunities because the rates are typically higher in rural parts of the state because there’s less access,” Condon said.
Additionally, Condon noted that while obesity is linked to increased risks for developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes, it does not reflect a full picture of a person’s health. Blaming, stigmatizing or bullying people about weight has consequences, she said
“Children affected by overweight or obesity can be blamed for things that they don’t necessarily have control over, and that can cause depression among our children,” she said.
Condon highlighted efforts to partner districts and farmers to provide fresh produce for school lunches, plant school gardens or teach kids how to ride a bike as successful programs to build on, but said there’s still more work to be done with ongoing school and community programs to develop good relationships with food and exercise.
She also outlined what she said would be effective policy solutions to address the issue, such as broader transportation options to grocery stores; more options for locally-grown produce; and creating safer parks or bike lines in communities.
“We have to work on the bigger picture of local, affordable food access in our communities,” Condon said. “All of us deserve to have healthy foods and safe places to be physically active — to live a healthy life.”
