"What we're seeing is a shift in the whole blood pressure distribution in children," said Paul Muntner of Tulane University, who led the study. "We may be seeing an epidemic of hypertension in the future as these children become adults."

Melinda S. Sothern, who treats overweight and obese children at Louisiana State University's Health Sciences Center in Baton Rouge, said she is already seeing children suffering severe health problems because of their weight.

"I think that we're going to have a generation of children who are not children. They're basically, because of the physiological and metabolic sickness associated with carrying all that excess weight around, prevented them from participating in childlike activities," Sothern said. "They are going to be very much physically and emotionally handicapped, and we're going to have to pay for it as a nation."