In eastern Massachusetts, the number of kids under age six who are obese declined significantly in recent years -- a trend that might be happening nationwide as well, according to a new study.

On the down side, obesity rates among lower-income children remain more stubbornly stable, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

Recent studies have shown that after decades of rising obesity rates among U.S. kids and teens, the numbers seem to be leveling off.

But less has been known about young children specifically, said Dr. Xiaozhong Wen, of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston.

Patterns in that age group are important, Wen said, because they give a glimpse into the future of the national obesity problem.

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