About Childhood Obesity
Statistics and trends that point to the need for urgent action.
Childhood obesity
A closer look at some disturbing trends
Childhood overweight and obesity place a substantial burden on morbidity and quality of life. The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity remain at historically high levels and socioeconomic disparities appear to be widening. Its impact is disproportionate across income and education demographics. Recent data shows that the highest risk children in the U.S. have not benefitted equally from national efforts.
Significantly, many of the underlying causes of obesity are modifiable risk factors—provided effective detection and interventions are available.
Approaches for reduction of obesity include collaborative interventions that aim to engage and empower families in obesity management and work across primary care and community settings.
Here are more of the reasons why we're committed to helping our fellow pediatric professionals have an impact:
Backed by a clinical trial and a multi-site, national implementation study drawing on data from more than 15,000 patients across several types of healthcare organizations, the Connect for Health program is a proven, ready-to-implement program that can be easily adopted and customized by clinicians for the most at-risk populations.
Steady Growth in Prevalence of Childhood Obesity
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A continual increase in childhood obesity in the U.S. has been measured by JAMA (and others) over the past 20+ years: 13.9% to 18.5% in youth from 1999-2016
Hales et al., 2018, JAMA
Ogden et al., 2017, NCHS Data Brief
Prevalence of obesity among youth aged 2–19 by sex and race and Hispanic origin 2015–16
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Hispanic, and Non-Hispanic Black communities in the U.S. are disproportionately impacted by childhood obesity.
Hales et al., 2018, JAMA
Ogden et al., 2017, NCHS Data Brief
Prevalence of Childhood Obesity Correlates with Income and Education Disparities 2011–14
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Prevalence of obesity among youths (2-19 years) is significantly higher in lower income groups and groups with lower education.
Ogden et al., 2018, MMWR
COVID-19 pandemic correlates with an upswing in childhood obesity—especially among racially/ethnically diverse and low-income patients
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Contributing factors:
School closings / Lack of physical education classes
Loss of structured day / Disrupted family routines
Increased screen time and access to unhealthy snacks
One longitudinal study covering a diverse population of over 432,000 patients aged 2 to 19 years showed that the monthly rate of increase in BMI nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. During March–November 2020, persons with moderate or severe obesity gained on average 1.0 and 1.2 pounds per month, respectively. Weight gain at this rate over 6 months was estimated at 6.1 and 7.6 pounds, respectively, compared with 2.7 pounds in a person with healthy weight.
Other studies have demonstrated that obesity increases were also more pronounced in patients aged 5 to 9 years and among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, publicly insured, and lower income patients.
Lange et al., 2021, MMWR
Jenssen et al., 2021, Pediatrics