Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity remains a big public health concern. Currently, 66 million Americans are overweight or obese. Over the past three decades, obesity rates have nearly tripled for children ages 2 to 5 (from 5 percent to 14 percent), more than tripled for youth ages 12 to 19 (from 5 percent to 17 percent), and more than quadrupled for children ages 6 to 11 (from 4 percent to 19 percent). Currently, approximately 12 million children and adolescents are obese, and almost 30 percent do not exercise three or more days per week.

Being overweight puts children and teenagers at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes, risk factors for heart disease at an earlier age, and other health conditions including asthma, sleep apnea, and psychosocial effects such as decreased self-esteem. In one large study, 61 percent of overweight 5- to 10-year-olds already had at least one risk factor for heart disease, and 26 percent had two or more risk factors for the disease. There is a 70 percent chance that an overweight adolescent will be overweight or obese as an adult. By adulthood, obesity-associated chronic diseases – heart disease, some cancers, stroke, diabetes – are the first, second, third, and sixth leading U.S. causes of death.