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New Statistics Concerning Obesity and Overweight Children in America
The Center for Disease Control has provided new statistics concerning obesity in children in the United States. The 'Healthy People 2010' study identified overweight and obesity as 1 of 10 leading health indicators for citizens of the U.S., and the study urged that steps be taked to begin the reduction in the proportion of children who are overweight or obese in the country. Sadly, we have made little progress towards that goal.
To monitor the progress in reducing the growing trend of obese children, data has been taken from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003-2006 and compared to the NHANES from 1971-1974. NHANES complete data results can be found here.
Among preschool-aged children, aged 2-5 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 5.0% to 12.4%
Among school-aged children, aged 6-11 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 4.0% to 17.0%
Among school-aged adolescents, aged 12-19 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 6.1% to 17.6%
The study also noticed that although overweight and obesity statistics increased for all children and adolescents over time, there were noticeable differences between racial and ethnic groups.
Again, this information can be found within the complete NHANES data here.
Obesity Rate Among Adolescent Boys*:
22% for Mexican-American Boys
18.5% for Non-Hispanic Black Boys
17.3% for Non-Hispanic White Boys
Obesity Rate Among Adolescent Girls*:
19.9% for Mexican-American Girls
27.7% for Non-Hispanic Black Girls
14.5% for Non-Hispanic White Girls
*Ogden CL, flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999-2000. JAMA 2002; 288:1728-1732
The Obesity Epidemic and United States Students
The CDC has also provided the following statistics from the 2007 National Youth Risk Survey showing the following. More information on the study and additional statistics can be found at the CDC's Healthy Youth website.
Overweight
13% were obese
Unhealthy Dietary Behaviors
79% ate fruits and vegetables less than five times per day during the 7 days before the survey.
34% drank a can, bottle, or glass of soda or pop (not including diet soda or diet pop) at least one time per day during the 7 days before the survey.
Physical Inactivity
65% did not meet recommended levels of physical activity
46% did not attend physical education classes
70% did not attend physical education classes daily
35% watched television 3 or more hours per day on an average school day
25% played video or coputer games or used a computer for something that was not schoolwork for 3 or more hours per day on an average school day.
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