One in 5 children aged 2 to 19 in the U.S. are living with obesity, marking the highest rate ever recorded, according to newly published data from the CDC.
The agency published two reports Feb. 25 examining obesity prevalence in the U.S. — one focused on children and adolescents and another on adults 20 and older. The estimates are based on measured height and weight data collected through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between August 2021 and August 2023.
Five things to know:
1. About 21.1% of children and teenagers ages 2 to 19 are living with obesity, including 7% with severe obesity, according to the new data. By comparison, during the 1971-1974 survey cycle, 5.2% of children had obesity and 1% had severe obesity, underscoring the sharp rise over the past five decades.
2. Nearly 23% of adolescents ages 12 to 19 were classified as having obesity in the most recent survey, the highest prevalence among pediatric age groups. Among children ages 2 to 5, 14.9% were classified as obese.
3. About 40.3% of adults ages 20 and older met criteria for obesity in the 2021-2023 survey period. Of those, 9.7% had severe obesity, while 31.7% of adults were classified as overweight. The latest figure represents a substantial increase from 1988-1994, when 22.9% of adults had obesity, 2.8% had severe obesity and 33.1% were overweight.
4. In 2017-2018, 42.4% of adults were classified as having obesity — the highest level ever recorded in the survey. The decline to 40.3% in the most recent cycle suggests the rapid rise seen in earlier decades may be slowing, though experts told ABC News it is too early to determine whether the shift represents a sustained downward trend.
5. Public health experts say a combination of factors could be contributing to the leveling off among adults, including increased awareness of nutrition and physical activity, policy interventions and the growing use of GLP-1 drugs.
