Forum on Child and Family StatisticsObesity
Obesity is a complex condition that has many contributors at both the individual level (e.g., genetics, diet, physical activity) and the societal level (e.g., social, economic, and environmental factors).1, 2 Children with obesity often become adults with obesity and have increased risks for a variety of poor health outcomes, including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.3, 4 Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity in U.S. children has increased.5, 6
Indicator HEALTH5 Percentage of children ages 6–17 with obesity by sex, selected years 1999–2002 through August 2021–August 2023
NOTE: A body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile is defined as "obesity." Before America's Children, 2010, a BMI at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI growth charts was termed overweight (https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts). Estimates of people with obesity are comparable with estimates of people who were overweight in past reports.7 The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) program suspended field operations in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, data collection for the 2019–2020 cycle was not completed. Therefore, data collected from 2019 to March 2020 were combined with data from the 2017–2018 cycle to create a 2017–March 2020 pre-pandemic file. This file covers 3.2 years of data collection. For more information, see https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/continuousnhanes/overviewbrief.aspx?Cycle=2017-2020. NHANES data collection resumed in August 2021 with a new 2-year sample design to reduce contact between interviewers and survey participants during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Although the sample design was similar to previous NHANES cycles, there was no oversampling by race and Hispanic origin, income, or age. For more information on the August 2021–August 2023 sample design and methodological changes, see https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/continuousnhanes/OverviewBrief.aspx?Cycle=2021-2023.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
- The percentage of children ages 6–17 with obesity increased from 16% in 1999–2002 to 23% in August 2021–August 2023.
- The percentage of male children with obesity increased from 17% in 1999–2002 to 25% in August 2021–August 2023, while the percentage of female children with obesity increased from 15% to 20% over this period.
- In August 2021–August 2023, male children were more likely than female children to have obesity.
1 Hampl, S. E., Hassink, S. G., Skinner, A. C., Armstrong, S. C., Barlow, S. E., Bolling, C. F., Avila Edwards, K. C., Eneli, I., Hamre, R., Joseph, M. M., Lunsford, D., Mendonca, E., Michalsky, M. P., Mirza, N., Ochoa, E. R., Sharifi, M., Staiano, A. E., Weedn, A. E., Flinn, S. K., . . . Okechukwu, K. (2023). Clinical practice guideline for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with obesity. Pediatrics, 151(2), Article e2022060640. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-060640
2 Hampl, S. E., Hassink, S. G., Skinner, A. C., Armstrong, S. C., Barlow, S. E., Bolling, C. F., Avila Edwards, K. C., Eneli, I., Hamre, R., Joseph, M. M., Lunsford, D., Mendonca, E., Michalsky, M. P., Mirza, N., Ochoa, E. R., Sharifi, M., Staiano, A. E., Weedn, A. E., Flinn, S. K., . . . Okechukwu, K. (2024). Erratum: clinical practice guideline for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with obesity. Pediatrics, 153(1), Article e2023064612. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-064612
3 Simmonds, M., Llewellyn, A., Owen, C. G., & Woolacott, N. (2015). Predicting adult obesity from childhood obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 17(2), 95–107. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12334
4 Llewellyn, A., Simmonds, M., Owen, C. G., & Woolacott, N. (2015). Childhood obesity as a predictor of morbidity in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 17(1), 56–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12316
5 Ogden, C. L., Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., & Johnson, C. L. (2002). Prevalence and trends in overweight among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(14), 1728–1732. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.14.1728
6 Ogden, C. L, Fryar, C. D., Martin, C. B., Freedman, D. S., Carroll, M. D., Gu, Q., & Hales, C. M. (2020). Trends in obesity prevalence by race and Hispanic origin—1999-2000 to 2017-2018. Journal of the American Medical Association, 324(12), 1208–1210. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.14590
7 Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999–2010. Journal of the American Medical Association, 307(5), 483–490. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.40
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
