• Among female youth, the highest overweight and obesity prevalence is found in black (non-Hispanic) girls (ages 6 to 11), 37.6 percent and 22.2 percent respectively, and black (non-Hispanic) adolescent females (ages 12 to 19), 45.5 percent and 26.6 percent respectively.
• Among male youth, the highest overweight and obesity prevalence is found in Mexican American boys (ages 6 to 11), 43 percent and 27.3 percent respectively, and Mexican American adolescent males (ages 12 to 19), 44.2 percent and 27.5 percent respectively.
• Overweight prevalence for Native American children and adolescents (ages 5 to 17) was reported in a 1999 study as 39 percent for males and 38 percent for females in the Aberdeen area Indian Health Service.
• Asian American adolescents (ages 13 to 18) were reported to have an overweight prevalence of 20.6 percent in the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
• Asian-American and Hispanic-American adolescents born in the U.S. to immigrant parents are more than twice as likely to be overweight as foreign born adolescents who move to the U.S.

Health Effects

Many adverse health effects associated with overweight are observed in children and adolescents. Overweight during childhood and particularly adolescence is related to increased morbidity and mortality in later life.

Asthma

• Prevalence of overweight is reported to be significantly higher in children and adolescents with moderate to severe asthma compared to a peer group.
Diabetes (Type 2)
• Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents has increased dramatically in a short period. The parallel increase of obesity in children and adolescents is reported to be the most significant factor for the rise in diabetes.
• Type 2 diabetes accounted for 2 to 4 percent of all childhood diabetes before 1992, but skyrocketed to 16 percent by 1994.
• Obese children and adolescents are reported to be 12.6 times more likely than non-obese to have high fasting blood insulin levels, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
• Type 2 diabetes is predominant among African American and Hispanic youngsters, with a particularly high rate among those of Mexican descent.
Hypertension
• Persistently elevated blood pressure levels have been found to occur about 9 times more frequently among obese children and adolescents (ages 5 to 18) than in non-obese.
• Obese children and adolescents are reported to be 2.4 times more likely to have high diastolic blood pressure and 4.5 times more likely to have high systolic blood pressure than their non-obese peers.
Orthopedic Complications
• Among growing youth, bone and cartilage in the process of development are not strong enough to bear excess weight. As a result, a variety of orthopedic complications occur in children and adolescents with obesity. In young children, excess weight can lead to bowing and overgrowth of leg bones.
• Increased weight on the growth plate of the hip can cause pain and limit range of motion. Between 30 to 50 percent of children with this condition are overweight.
Psychosocial Effects & Stigma
• Overweight children are often taller than the non-overweight.
• White girls, who develop a negative body image, are at a greater risk for the subsequent development of eating disorders.
• Adolescent females who are overweight have reported experiences with stigmatization such as direct and intentional weight-related teasing, jokes and derogatory name calling, as well as less intentional, potentially hurtful comments by peers, family members, employers and strangers.
• Overweight children and adolescents report negative assumptions made about them by others, including being inactive or lazy, being strong and tougher than others, not having feelings, and being unclean.
Sleep Apnea
• Sleep apnea, the absence of breathing during sleep, occurs in about 7 percent of children with obesity. Deficits in logical thinking are common in children with obesity and sleep apnea.

Note: Information for this fact sheet comes from various sources, some of which use different terminology for the 85th and 95th percentile of BMI. For consistency, the AOA refers to any use of the 85th percentile of BMI as overweight and the 95th percentile as obesity in children and adolescents. In general, childhood is defined as 6 to 11 years of age, and adolescence as 12 to 19 years of age.