Since 1980, obesity has nearly doubled among children ages 2 to 5 years old, and more than doubled among children 6 to 11 years old. At the same time, the rate of obesity among adolescents ages 12 to 19 has quadrupled, increasing from 5 percent to more than 20 percent. Overall, approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 are obese.
Figure 1: U.S. trends in obesity among children and adolescents: 1970-2014
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Health Examination Surveys II (ages 6-11), III (ages 12-17), and National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) I-III, and NHANES 1999-2000, 2001-2001, 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2013-2014
These numbers tell only part of the story, however, since obesity disproportionately affects children and youth within certain racial and ethnic groups. In 2013-2014, obesity was particularly prevalent among children and youth ages 2 to 19 who were African-American females (20.9 percent) and Hispanic males (20.6 percent) and females (22.1 percent). Among the multifaceted Hispanic ethnic group, children and youth ages 2 to 19 of Mexican heritage had elevated obesity rates, both males (19.5) and females (24.2).
Figure 2: Prevalence of obesity among girls aged 2-19 years, by race and ethnicity: United States, 1988-1994 and 2013-2014
*Data for 1988-1994 was collected for Mexican-Americans only; for equal comparison, Mexican-American data was used for 2013-2014.
Source: Fryar, CD, Carroll, MD, & Ogden, CL. (July 2016). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years: United States, 1963-1965 through 2013-2014. NCHS Health E-Stats. Retrived from www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_13_14/obesity_child_13_14.pdf
Figure 3: Prevalence of obesity among boys aged 2-19 years, by race and ethnicity: United States, 1988-1994 and 2013-2014
*Data for 1988-1994 was collected for Mexican-Americans only; for equal comparison, Mexican-American data was used for 2013-2014.
Source: Fryar, CD, Carroll, MD, & Ogden, CL. (July 2016). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years: United States, 1963-1965 through 2013-2014. NCHS Health E-Stats. Retrived from www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_13_14/obesity_child_13_14.pdf
