The Facts About Childhood Obesity

Everyone knows that childhood obesity is increasing, right?

Understanding the actual statistics behind the number of overweight children and other important childhood obesity statistics may help you with your overweight child. It can also help your child who is at a healthy weight stay at a healthy weight.

A little boy holding a donut

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The Child Obesity Epidemic

It is clear from reviewing childhood obesity statistics that childhood obesity has been increasing in the past few decades:

  • Only 5% of children 2–5 years old met the current definition of obesity in a 1971–1974 survey, while 13.4% of children at this age were obese in a 2017–2018 survey
  • Only 4% of children 6–11 years old were obese in the 1971–1974 survey, while 20.3% of children at this age were obese in the 2017–2018 survey
  • Only 6.1% of children 12–19 years old were obese in the 1971–1974 survey, while 21.2% of children at this age were obese in the 2017–2018 survey

Fortunately, childhood obesity rates haven’t risen as dramatically in recent years.

Body Mass Index

How do you know if your child is overweight?

Using their height, weight, and age, you figure out their body mass index (BMI) using a:

  • BMI Calculator
  • BMI Formula

And then plot their body mass index on a BMI growth chart.

BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such as body composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. 
Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.

According to the CDC, the current BMI definitions are:

  • Underweight: less than the 5th percentile
  • Healthy weight: 5th to less than the 85th percentile
  • Overweight: 85th to less than 95th percentile
  • Obese: Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile

Obesity Facts and Statistics

Other important facts about childhood obesity that can be helpful include that:

  • An old rule of thumb is that 3,500 calories is equal to a pound of body weight. While this decades-old rule of thumb isn’t accurate, it gives some idea of the impact of eating an extra 3,500 calories each month or burning an extra 3,500 calories to lose a pound
  • Participating in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity on most days can help your child maintain a healthy weight
  • More than one or two hours of screen time (TV, computers, video games) each day is a risk factor for childhood obesity
  • About 70% of obese teenagers are still obese in their 30s
  • Less than 20% of adults are at a healthy weight

If your child is overweight, you should likely work with your pediatrician and/or a registered dietitian to help him lose weight.

Adult Obesity Statistics

As with the child obesity epidemic, there has also been a great rise in adult obesity. Statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics show that about 30% of adults are overweight, with a BMI at or above 25. In addition, more than half of adults have a BMI at or above 30 and are considered to be obese or severely obese.

6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among children and adolescents aged 2–19 years: United States, 1963–1965 through 2017–2018.

  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About child & teen BMI.

  3. Thomas DM, Gonzalez MC, Pereira AZ, Redman LM, Heymsfield SB. Time to correctly predict the amount of weight loss with dieting. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014;114(6):857-861. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.02.003

  4. Tester JM, Phan TT, Tucker JM, et al. Characteristics of children 2 to 5 years of age with severe obesity. Pediatrics. 2018;141(3):e20173228. doi:10.1542/peds.2017-3228

  5. Simmonds M, Llewellyn A, Owen CG, Woolacott N. Predicting adult obesity from childhood obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2016;17(2):95-107. doi:10.1111/obr.12334

  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: National Center for Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among adults aged 20 and over: United States, 1960–1962 through 2017–2018.

By Vincent Iannelli, MD
 Vincent Iannelli, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Iannelli has cared for children for more than 20 years.