Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in the United States

On This Page Prevalence of Childhood Obesity in the United States Obesity and Socioeconomic Status Women, Infant, Children (WIC) Data Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States, putting children and adolescents at risk for poor health. Obesity prevalence among children and adolescents is still too high.

For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years1:

The prevalence of obesity was 18.5%. About 13.7 million children and adolescents had obesity. Obesity prevalence was 13.9% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 18.4% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 20.6% among 12- to 19-year-olds. Childhood obesity is more common among certain populations. Hispanic (25.8%) and non-Hispanic Black children (22.0%) had higher obesity prevalence than non-Hispanic White children (14.1%).

By providing this type of information with the centre, it helps the educator’s and in-centre staff to meet your child’s individual needs. As a result, you can help make most of your child’s time in care.

Communication between you and the centre must never be one-way. Just as it is important for you to share information about behaviours at home, it is vital for educators to share what happens in-centre. The staff should share with you:

Non-Hispanic Asian children (11.0%) had lower obesity prevalence than non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanic children. 1Read CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data brief pdf icon[PDF-603KB]

Note: Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the CDC sex-specific BMI-for-age growth charts. Top of Page Obesity and Socioeconomic Status [Read the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)]

The prevalence of obesity decreased with increasing level of education of the household head among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years.

Obesity prevalence was 18.9% among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years in the lowest income group, 19.9% among those in the middle-income group, and 10.9% among those in the highest income group.

Obesity prevalence was lower in the highest income group among non-Hispanic Asian and Hispanic boys. Obesity prevalence was lower in the highest income group among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Asian, and Hispanic girls. Obesity prevalence did not differ by income among non-Hispanic Black girls.

Top of Page Women, Infant, Children (WIC) Data Obesity Among WIC-Enrolled Young Children Related Information Data, Maps, and Trends Use these maps and interactive database systems to find information relating to nutrition, physical activity, and obesity. Obesity Among WIC-Enrolled Young Children CDC works with the USDA to analyze child obesity data from the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics Report (WIC PC).