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HEALTH7 Obesity: Percentage of children ages 6–17 who are obesea by age, race and Hispanic origin, and gender, selected years 1976–2010

excel icon HEALTH7 Excel Table

Characteristic 1976–1980 1988–1994 1999–2000 2001–2002 2003–2004 2005–2006 2007–2008 2009–2010
Ages 6–17
Total 5.7 11.2 15.0 16.5 18.0 16.5 19.2 18.0
Race and Hispanic originb
White, non-Hispanic 4.9 10.5 11.3 14.6 17.3 13.8 17.4 14.6
Black, non-Hispanic 8.2 14.0 21.1 20.4 21.7 21.3 22.4 25.7
All Hispanics — — — — — — 24.4 23.1
Mexican-American — 15.4 24.1 21.5 19.6 25.6 24.2 23.4
Gender
Male 5.5 11.8 15.7 18.0 19.1 17.2 21.0 19.7
Female 5.8 10.6 14.3 15.1 16.8 15.9 17.3 16.2
Ages 6–11
Total 6.5 11.3 15.1 16.3 18.8 15.1 19.6 18.0
Gender
Male 6.7 11.6 15.7 17.5 19.9 16.2 21.2 20.1
Female 6.4 11.0 14.3 14.9 17.6 14.1 18.0 15.7
Ages 12–17
Total 5.0 11.1 14.9 16.8 17.2 17.8 18.8 18.0
Gender
Male 4.5 12.0 15.6 18.4 18.3 18.1 20.8 19.4
Female 5.4 10.2 14.2 15.2 16.0 17.5 16.7 16.5
—Not available.
a Previously a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI growth charts was termed overweight (http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts). Beginning with America’s Children, 2010, a BMI at or above the 95th percentile is termed obese to be consistent with other NCHS publications. Estimates of obesity are comparable to estimates of overweight in past reports.1
b From 1976 to 1994, the 1977 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. For 1999–2010, the revised 1997 OMB Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and “Two or more races.” Beginning in 1999, those in each racial category represent those reporting only one race. Data from 1999 onward are not directly comparable with data from earlier years. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately but combined for reporting. Persons of Mexican origin may be of any race. From 1976 to 2006, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample was designed to provide estimates specifically for persons of Mexican origin. Beginning in 2007, NHANES allows for reporting of both total Hispanics and Mexican Americans.
NOTE: All estimates have a relative standard error of less than 30 percent and meet agency standards for publication. Observed differences between 2-year estimates for race/ethnic groups are not statistically significant unless noted.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
1 Ogden, C.L., Flegal, K.M. (2010). Changes in terminology for childhood overweight and obesity. National Health Statistics Reports, 25. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr025.pdf.