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Overweight Children and Youth
Headline More than one in six adolescents ages 12 to 19 were overweight in the United States in 2003-2004, more than triple the rate in 1976-1980. (See Figure 1) In 2003-2004, over a quarter of non-Hispanic black females ages 6 to 19 were overweight. Children who are overweight are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, orthopedic abnormalities, gout, arthritis, and skin problems. Childhood obesity has been linked to the premature onset of puberty.1 In addition, being overweight can negatively affect children's social and psychological development. A recent study found bullying and obesity in children to be positively correlated, with physical activity decreasing as victimization increased.2 The health threats posed by being an overweight child can be long lasting. Children and adolescents who are overweight are at risk for becoming overweight adults. Overweight adults face many problems due to their weight, such as decreased productivity, social stigmatization, high health care costs, and premature death.3 In addition, overweight adults are at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, elevated blood pressure, stroke, respiratory problems, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and some types of cancer.4 Furthermore, studies suggest that belly fat is more dangerous than general body weight. The abdominal and visceral fat (found surrounding the internal organs) has been more closely linked with diseases than general body fat.5 In addition, measuring waist circumference may be a better predictor of a person being unhealthily overweight than body mass index. Given the seriousness of the health consequences associated with being overweight, and the rate of increase in the past few decades, the Surgeon General has declared overweight prevalence in children and adolescents "a major public health concern."6 Reducing child and adolescent obesity requires efforts by families, schools, communities, government and industry.7 Parents can play an important role in preventing and reducing child and adolescent obesity by promoting healthy eating through family meals, providing healthy foods in the home, limiting television watching and other sedentary behavior, and encouraging physical activity.8,9 One study of the diets of over 3,000 infants and toddlers found that very young children consume too many high-calorie foods, too much sodium, and consume too few fruits and vegetables, emphasizing the fact that healthy eating habits should be addressed from the beginning of a child's life.10
Children ages six to 11 were more than two and a half times as likely to be overweight in 2003-2004 as they were in 1976-1980 (19 percent versus 7 percent, respectively). During the same period, the percentage of adolescents ages 12 to 19 who were overweight tripled from 5 percent in 1976-1980 to 17 percent in 2003-2004. (See Figure 1) Differences by Gender Overall, boys and girls are about equally likely to be overweight. However, some differences exist within racial and ethnic subgroups. For example, among non-Hispanic black adolescents ages 12 to 19, girls are more likely than boys to be overweight (25 percent versus 19 percent, respectively, in 2003-2004). (See Figure 2) Differences by Race and Ethnicity Among adolescent girls ages 12 to19 in 2003-2004, non-Hispanic blacks were substantially more likely to be overweight than non-Hispanic white and Mexican American youth (25 percent versus 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively). (See Figure 2) Among children ages 6 to 11, Mexican American boys are significantly more likely than non-Hispanic black boys to be overweight and non-Hispanic black girls are more likely than non-Hispanic white girls to be overweight. (See Table 1) Vigorous Physical Activity, Disordered Eating: Symptoms of Bulimia 2005 estimates are available for high school students (grades 9 to 12) by grade, sex, and race/ethnicity for selected states and cities from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5505a1.htm#tab61. International Estimates None available Through its Healthy People 2010 initiative, the federal government has set a national goal to reduce the number of overweight children to 5 percent from a 1988-1994 baseline level of about 11 percent. To reach this goal, the Federal Drug Administration and The National Institutes of Health are encouraging schools and communities to educate parents and children about the importance of a healthy diet and physical activity. More information available at: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/uih/uih_4.htm#overandobese What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs 1Gidding, Samuel, Rudolph Leibel, Stephen Daniels, Michael Rosenbaum, Linda van Horn, and Gerald Marx. "Understanding Obesity in Youth." American Heart Association Medical/Scientific Statement, 1996. http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/94/12/3383 2Birdwell, April Frawley. (April 19, 2006). "Bullying Keeps Overweight Kids Off the Field." University of Florida News. Available Online: http://news.ufl.edu/2006/04/19/bullies/ 3U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; [2001]. Available from: U.S. GPO, Washington. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/CalltoAction.pdf 4U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000. 5U.S. children grow bigger bellies. (2006, November 6). Reuters. Retrieved February 11, 2007, http://today.reuters.com. 6U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; [2001]. Available from: U.S. GPO, Washington. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/CalltoAction.pdf 7Institute of Medicine. (2006). Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Summary available at: http://www.iom.edu/?id=37008. 8Lindsay, Ana C., Sussner, Katarina M., Kim, Juhee, and Gortmaker, Steven. (2006). "The Role of Parents in Preventing Childhood Obesity" The Future of Children , 16(1): 169-186. Available at: http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/08_5562_lindsay-etal.pdf. 9For additional research information on child obesity see The Future of Children, Volume 16, Issue 1. Available at: http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/Obesity_Volume_16,_Number_1_Spring_2006.pdf 10Mathematica Policy Reserch. (March 16, 2006). "Problems Start Early in the Diets of Infants and Toddlers: New Analyses from Mathematica's Groundbreaking Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study May Help in Fight Against Childhood Obesity." Press Release. Princeton, NJ. http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/Press%20Releases/fits06JADA.asp.
Overweight is defined as body mass index (BMI) at or above the sex- and age-specific 95th percentile of the 2000 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI cutoff points. For example a 10-year-old boy who is 4 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 96 lbs. is overweight. Measuring belly fat or waist circumference is another method used in determining or predicting whether someone is overweight. For example, a man with a waist wider than 40 inches and a woman whose waist is wider than 35 inches, are considered to be at risk.
BMI age-for-growth charts for the United States are available at Data Source Data for 2003-2004: Ogden, Cynthia, Carroll, Margaret, Curtin, Lester, McDowell, Margaret, Tabak, Carolyn, and Flegal, Katherine. "Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004." JAMA, 295 (13): 1549-1555.
Data for 1976-1994: National Center for Health Statistics. (2003). Health United States, 2003 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. National Center for Health Statistics. 2003. Table 69. See Data for 1999-2002: Hedley, Allison, Ogden, Cynthia, Johnson, Clifford, Carroll, Margaret, Curtin, Lester and Katherine Flegal. "Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among US Children, Adolescents, and Adults, 1999-2002," JAMA, 291 (23): 2847-2850. Raw Data Source
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) Approximate Date of Next Update Unknown
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