From 1999–2000 through August 2021–August 2023, the prevalence of obesity among persons in the United States aged 2–19 years increased from 13.9% to 21.1%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 3.6% to 7.0%.
Supplementary Table: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164014
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2000 through August 2021–August 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm
For more information on this topic, CDC recommends the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/family-action/index.html.
Footnotes
Abbreviation: BMI = body mass index.
Obesity was defined as BMI ≥95th percentile for age and sex on CDC growth charts (https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/cdc_charts.htm). BMI is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
Severe obesity was defined as BMI ≥120% of the 95th percentile for age and sex on CDC growth charts.
After National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey operations were suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, field operations resumed from August 2021 until August 2023.