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Childhood Obesity
Prevalence and Identification
  About 15.5 percent of adolescents (ages 12 to 19) and 15.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are obese. The increase in obesity among American youth over the past two decades is dramatic, as shown in the tables below.

Table 1.
Prevalence of Obese Children
(Ages 6 to 11) at the
95th percentile of
Body Mass Index (BMI)
1999 to 2000 15.3%
1988 to 1994 11%
1976 to 1980 7%
   
Table 2.
Prevalence of Obese Adolescents
(Ages 12 to 19) at the
95th percentile of
Body Mass Index (BMI)
1999 to 2000 15.5%
1988 to 1994 11%
1976 to 1980 5%

A measurement called percentile of Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to identify overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the supplier of national growth charts and prevalence data, avoids using the word "obesity" for children and adolescents. Instead, they suggest two levels of overweight: 1) the 85th percentile, an "at risk" level, and 2) the 95th percentile, the more severe level.

The American Obesity Association uses the 85th percentile of BMI as a reference point for overweight and the 95th percentile for obesity.

We do so, because the 95th percentile:

  • corresponds to a BMI of 30, which is the marker for obesity in adults. The 85th percentile corresponds to the overweight reference point for adults, which is a BMI of 25.
  • is recommended as a marker for children and adolescents to have an in-depth medical assessment.
  • identifies children that are very likely to have obesity persist into adulthood.
  • is associated with elevated blood pressure and lipids in older adolescents, and increases their risk of diseases.
  • is a criteria for more aggressive treatment.
  • is a criteria in clinical research trials of childhood obesity treatments.
Growth Charts - Identifying Obesity in Your Child

Parents and healthcare professionals in the U.S. have used growth charts since the late 1970's to follow the progress in physical growth of infants, children and adolescents. In May 2001, the CDC developed new growth charts to include BMI.


Healthy Weight for Children Tops AOA's Goals to Build a Healthy Tomorrow

The AOA's focus on childhood obesity has involved lobbying Congress to provide more funding for prevention programs, collecting research for further understanding, and convening experts at our conference to explore questions and seek answers.

Lobbying Congress
The AOA has lobbied Congress to pass the Frist Senate Bill (S. 2686) and secure funds for a Childhood Obesity Prevention Grant, and a bill to regulate the sale of non-nutritional foods in schools, introduced by Senators Leahy, Jeffords, Feingold, Bingaman and Wellstone.

AOA Survey on Parental Perceptions about their Children's Weight
The majority of parents in the U.S. (78 percent) believe that physical education or recess should not be reduced or replaced with academic classes.

AOA Conference

  • Take a look at some childhood obesity topics from our past conferences.

Related Articles and Links on the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity:

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This web site was last updated on May 2, 2005.