Childhood Obesity Facts & Stats

 

Source:  http://www.fit-kids-club.com/childhood_obesity_facts.html

 

In 2003-2004, 17% of US children and adolescents were overweight. (JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1549-55. Ogden CL, et al.)

 

• There was an increase in the prevalence of overweight in female children and adolescents from 14% in 1999-2000 to 16% in 2003-2004 and an increase in the prevalence of overweight in male children and adolescents from 14% to 18%. (JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1549-55. Ogden CL, et al.)

 

• Among children aged 6 through 19 years in 1999-2002, 31% were at risk for overweight or overweight and 16% were overweight. (JAMA. 2004 Jun 16;291(23):2847-50. Hedley AA, et at.)

 

• The prevalence of overweight was 16% among 12- through 19-year-olds, 15% among 6- through 11-year-olds, and 10% among 2- through 5-year-olds, compared with 10.5%, 11.3%, and 7.2%, respectively, in 1988-1994 (NHANES III).

 

• The prevalence of overweight among non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American adolescents increased more than 10 percentage points between 1988-1994 and 1999-2000. (JAMA. 2002 Oct 9;288(14):1728-32.  Ogden CL, et al.)

 

• Obese children under three years of age without obese parents are at low risk for obesity in adulthood, but among older children, obesity is an increasingly important predictor of adult obesity, regardless of whether the parents are obese. Parental obesity more than doubles the risk of adult obesity among both obese and nonobese children under 10 years of age. (NEJM Volume 337:869-873  September 25, 1997  Number 13 Robert C. Whitaker, M.D., M.P.H., et al)

 

• Approximately 4% of US children are currently affected with extreme obesity, outnumbering those affected by childhood cancer, cystic fibrosis, HIV and juvenile diabetes combined. (International Journal of Obesity 31, 1 - 14, 01 Jan 2007 T H Inge, S A Xanthakos, M H Zeller)

 

• Approximately 22 million children under 5 years of age are overweight across the world. In the United States, the number of overweight children and adolescents has doubled in the last two to three decades, and similar doubling rates are being observed worldwide, including in developing countries and regions where an increase in Westernization of behavioral and dietary lifestyles is evident. (Obesity Research 9:S239-S243. 2001, Richard J. Deckelbaum and Christine L. Williams)

 

• Obese Hispanic and white females demonstrate significantly lower levels of self-esteem by early adolescence. In addition, obese children with decreasing levels of self-esteem demonstrate significantly higher rates of sadness, loneliness, and nervousness and are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such as smoking or consuming alcohol. (PEDIATRICS Vol. 105 No. 1 January 2000, p. e15 Richard S. Strauss)

 

• About 16 percent of U.S. children ages 6 to 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

• There is an 80 percent chance that overweight children will become obese adults and be at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

 

• Nearly half of the children in North and South America will be overweight by 2010, up from what recent studies say is about one-third, according to a report published by the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity.

 

• In the European Union, about 38 percent of all children will be overweight if present trends continue — up from about 25 percent in recent surveys.

 

• About 15.5 percent of adolescents (ages 12 to 19) and 15.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are obese. (American Obesity Association)

 

The increase in obesity among American youth over the past two decades is dramatic, as shown in the tables below. Table 1. Prevalence of Obese Children (Ages 6 to 11) at the 95th percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) 1999 to 2000 15.3% 1988 to 1994 11% 1976 to 1980 7%     Table 2. Prevalence of Obese Adolescents (Ages 12 to 19) at the 95th percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) 1999 to 2000 15.5% 1988 to 1994 11% 1976 to 1980 5% (American Obesity Association)   A measurement called percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to identify overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the supplier of national growth charts and prevalence data, avoids using the word "obesity" for children and adolescents. Instead, they suggest two levels of overweight: 1) the 85th percentile, an "at risk" level, and 2) the 95th percentile, the more severe level. (The American Obesity Association uses the 85th percentile of BMI as a reference point for overweight and the 95th percentile for obesity.)   Among female youth, the highest overweight and obesity prevalence is found in black (non-Hispanic) girls (ages 6 to 11), 37.6 percent and 22.2 percent respectively, and black (non-Hispanic) adolescent females (ages 12 to 19), 45.5 percent and 26.6 percent respectively. (The American Obesity Association)   Among male youth, the highest overweight and obesity prevalence is found in Mexican American boys (ages 6 to 11), 43 percent and 27.3 percent respectively, and Mexican American adolescent males (ages 12 to 19), 44.2 percent and 27.5 percent respectively. (The American Obesity Association)   Overweight prevalence for Native American children and adolescents (ages 5 to 17) was reported in a 1999 study as 39 percent for males and 38 percent for females in the Aberdeen area Indian Health Service. (The American Obesity Association)   Asian American adolescents (ages 13 to 18) were reported to have an overweight prevalence of 20.6 percent in the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. (The American Obesity Association)   Asian-American and Hispanic-American adolescents born in the U.S. to immigrant parents are more than twice as likely to be overweight as foreign born adolescents who move to the U.S (The American Obesity Association)