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Statistics on Childhood Obesity:
Obesity is a serious health concern for children and adolescents. Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: for children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%.1, 8
Obese children and adolescents are at risk for health problems during their youth and as adults. For example, during their youth, obese children and adolescents are more likely to have risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes) than are other children and adolescents.2
Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults. For example, one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years. Another study found that 25% of obese adults were overweight as children. The latter study also found that if overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.
Obesity Prevalence
Obesity is a serious health concern for children and adolescents. Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: for children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%.
Healthy People 2010 identified overweight and obesity as 1 of 10 leading health indicators and called for a reduction in the proportion of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese, but the United States has made little progress toward the target goal.
Progress toward reducing the national prevalence of overweight and obesity is monitored using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The most recent NHANES data (2003–2006) showed that for children aged 6 –11 years and 12–19 years, the prevalence of overweight was 17.0% and 17.6% respectively. These prevalence figures are more than three times the target prevalence of 5% set in Healthy People 2010.
Trends in Childhood Obesity
The following graphs show trends in childhood overweight based on NHANES data for various age groups, beginning with NHANES I (1971–1974) and ending with NHANES 2003–2006 (the most recently available published data).
Data from NHANES I (1971–1974) to NHANES 2003–2006 show increases in overweight among all age groups:
· Among preschool-aged children, aged 2–5 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 5.0% to 12.4%.
· Among school-aged children, aged 6–11 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 4.0% to 17.0%.
· Among school-aged adolescents, aged 12–19 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 6.1% to 17.6%.