Obesity affects 1 in every 5 U.S. children, a new study says.
About 20% of American children between the ages of 2 and 19 have obesity, researchers report Feb. 10 in JAMA Network Open.
“In 2024, excess youth overweight and obesity remained highly prevalent among youths in the U.S.,” wrote the research team led by Dr. William Heerman, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
For the new study, researchers analyzed data on more than 6 million children collected by eight clinical research networks in 2024.
Results showed that about 27% of 2- to 5-year-olds and just under 39% of teenagers and young adults were overweight or obese.
In all, 9% of teenagers and young adults were severely obese.
Among teenagers, healthy weight was found in:
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59% of white youths
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52% of Black young people
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50% of American Indian/Alaska Native youths
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49% of Hispanic youths
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47% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander youths
“These results demonstrate the uneven distribution of obesity and severe obesity across youths in the U.S. and underscore the need for ongoing treatment, prevention and public health interventions to reduce excess adiposity in youths,” the study concluded.
Children with obesity have a higher risk of asthma, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, heart disease, depression and joint pain, according to the Cleveland Clinic.