Trends in Obesity Prevalence Among Children and Adolescents in the United States, 1988-1994 Through 2013-2014 (original) (raw)
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Childhood Obesity in the United States of America
European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 2014
Obesity in the U.S. is a problem that is beginning to grow large in our children‘s lives. The solution to this problem is centered in three areas; the help of the community, health education, and consumer education. The two main factors casing childhood obesity is eating high fat, high protein foods along with a serious sedentary lifestyle. Childhood obesity in the United State is a rising epidemic, a serious health crisis, and is steadily increasing because it seems that people refuse to change for the good of the nation. Since the last decade the percentage of children being obese has increased steadily. The cause of this is a poor nutrition and physical activity and the plan is to get back to how it used to be, if not better. Children in the U.S. are eating more processed foods at home and there is less physical activity and sports at school. While children are developing bad habits when they are young, they are likely to turn into an adult who is obese and has bad habits. This i...
Lancet, 2024
Background Over the past several decades, the overweight and obesity epidemic in the USA has resulted in a significant health and economic burden. Understanding current trends and future trajectories at both national and state levels is crucial for assessing the success of existing interventions and informing future health policy changes. We estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity from 1990 to 2021 with forecasts to 2050 for children and adolescents (aged 5–24 years) and adults (aged ≥25 years) at the national level. Additionally, we derived state-specific estimates and projections for older adolescents (aged 15–24 years) and adults for all 50 states and Washington, DC. Methods In this analysis, self-reported and measured anthropometric data were extracted from 134 unique sources, which included all major national surveillance survey data. Adjustments were made to correct for self-reporting bias. For individuals older than 18 years, overweight was defined as having a BMI of 25 kg/m2 to less than 30 kg/m2 and obesity was defined as a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or higher, and for individuals younger than 18 years definitions were based on International Obesity Task Force criteria. Historical trends of overweight and obesity prevalence from 1990 to 2021 were estimated using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression models. A generalised ensemble modelling approach was then used to derive projected estimates up to 2050, assuming continuation of past trends and patterns. All estimates were calculated by age and sex at the national level, with estimates for older adolescents (aged 15–24 years) and adults aged (≥25 years) also calculated for 50 states and Washington, DC. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) were derived from the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of the posterior distributions of the respective estimates. Findings In 2021, an estimated 15·1 million (95% UI 13·5–16·8) children and young adolescents (aged 5–14 years), 21·4 million (20·2–22·6) older adolescents (aged 15–24 years), and 172 million (169–174) adults (aged ≥25 years) had overweight or obesity in the USA. Texas had the highest age-standardised prevalence of overweight or obesity for male adolescents (aged 15–24 years), at 52·4% (47·4–57·6), whereas Mississippi had the highest for female adolescents (aged 15–24 years), at 63·0% (57·0–68·5). Among adults, the prevalence of overweight or obesity was highest in North Dakota for males, estimated at 80·6% (78·5–82·6), and in Mississippi for females at 79·9% (77·8–81·8). The prevalence of obesity has outpaced the increase in overweight over time, especially among adolescents. Between 1990 and 2021, the percentage change in the age-standardised prevalence of obesity increased by 158·4% (123·9–197·4) among male adolescents and 185·9% (139·4–237·1) among female adolescents (15–24 years). For adults, the percentage change in prevalence of obesity was 123·6% (112·4–136·4) in males and 99·9% (88·8–111·1) in females. Forecast results suggest that if past trends and patterns continue, an additional 3·33 million children and young adolescents (aged 5–14 years), 3·41 million older adolescents (aged 15–24 years), and 41·4 million adults (aged ≥25 years) will have overweight or obesity by 2050. By 2050, the total number of children and adolescents with overweight and obesity will reach 43·1 million (37·2–47·4) and the total number of adults with overweight and obesity will reach 213 million (202–221). In 2050, in most states, a projected one in three adolescents (aged 15–24 years) and two in three adults (≥25 years) will have obesity. Although southern states, such as Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Kentucky, are forecast to continue to have a high prevalence of obesity, the highest percentage changes from 2021 are projected in states such as Utah for adolescents and Colorado for adults. Interpretation Existing policies have failed to address overweight and obesity. Without major reform, the forecasted trends will be devastating at the individual and population level, and the associated disease burden and economic costs will continue to escalate. Stronger governance is needed to support and implement a multifaceted whole-system approach to disrupt the structural drivers of overweight and obesity at both national and local levels. Although clinical innovations should be leveraged to treat and manage existing obesity equitably, population-level prevention remains central to any intervention strategies, particularly for children and adolescents.
Childhood and Adolescent Obesity in the United States: A Public Health Concern
Global Pediatric Health, 2019
Childhood and adolescent obesity have reached epidemic levels in the United States. Currently, about 17% of US children are presenting with obesity. Obesity can affect all aspects of the children including their psychological as well as cardiovascular health; also, their overall physical health is affected. The association between obesity and other conditions makes it a public health concern for children and adolescents. Due to the increase in the prevalence of obesity among children, a variety of research studies have been conducted to discover what associations and risk factors increase the probability that a child will present with obesity. While a complete picture of all the risk factors associated with obesity remains elusive, the combination of diet, exercise, physiological factors, and psychological factors is important in the control and prevention of childhood obesity; thus, all researchers agree that prevention is the key strategy for controlling the current problem. Primary prevention methods are aimed at educating the child and family, as well as encouraging appropriate diet and exercise from a young age through adulthood, while secondary prevention is targeted at lessening the effect of childhood obesity to prevent the child from continuing the unhealthy habits and obesity into adulthood. A combination of both primary and secondary prevention is necessary to achieve the best results. This review article highlights the health implications including physiological and psychological factors comorbidities, as well as the epidemiology, risk factors, prevention, and control of childhood and adolescent obesity in the United States.
Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents Prevalence and Etiology Luis A. Moreno
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The Lancet
Background In 2010, overweight and obesity were estimated to cause 3·4 million deaths, 3·9% of years of life lost, and 3·8% of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) worldwide. The rise in obesity has led to widespread calls for regular monitoring of changes in overweight and obesity prevalence in all populations. Comparable, up-to-date information about levels and trends is essential to quantify population health eff ects and to prompt decision makers to prioritise action. We estimate the global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013. Methods We systematically identifi ed surveys, reports, and published studies (n=1769) that included data for height and weight, both through physical measurements and self-reports. We used mixed eff ects linear regression to correct for bias in self-reports. We obtained data for prevalence of obesity and overweight by age, sex, country, and year (n=19 244) with a spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression model to estimate prevalence with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). Findings Worldwide, the proportion of adults with a body-mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m² or greater increased between 1980 and 2013 from 28·8% (95% UI 28·4–29·3) to 36·9% (36·3–37·4) in men, and from 29·8% (29·3–30·2) to 38·0% (37·5–38·5) in women. Prevalence has increased substantially in children and adolescents in developed countries; 23·8% (22·9–24·7) of boys and 22·6% (21·7–23·6) of girls were overweight or obese in 2013. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has also increased in children and adolescents in developing countries, from 8·1% (7·7–8·6) to 12·9% (12·3–13·5) in 2013 for boys and from 8·4% (8·1–8·8) to 13·4% (13·0–13·9) in girls. In adults, estimated prevalence of obesity exceeded 50% in men in Tonga and in women in Kuwait, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Libya, Qatar, Tonga, and Samoa. Since 2006, the increase in adult obesity in developed countries has slowed down. Interpretation Because of the established health risks and substantial increases in prevalence, obesity has become a major global health challenge. Not only is obesity increasing, but no national success stories have been reported in the past 33 years. Urgent global action and leadership is needed to help countries to more eff ectively intervene."
Overweight and obesity in children. A brief review
2020
Overweight and obesity are conditions of excessive body fat accumulation. In clinical practice, child and adolescent overweight and obesity are commonly identified by age- and gender-specific body mass index (BMI) percentiles, BMI standard deviation scores, and waist circumference (WC) percentiles relative to a reference population. A recent analysis of population data of children aged five to 19 years estimated that in 2016 obesity was identified in 50 million girls and 74 million boys worldwide. In the USA in 2014, the prevalence of child and adolescent obesity (BMI > 95th centile) was 9.4% (two to five years), 17.4% (six to 11 years), and 20.6% (12 to 19 years). In Europe, obesity prevalence was on average 4.0% in adolescents, with vast differences between countries. Childhood obesity prevalence is increasing in middle- and low-income countries, for example, up to 40% of children in Mexico were living with obesity or overweight, 32% in Lebanon and 28% in Argentina. Health prob...
Extent of overweight among US children and adolescents from 1971 to 2000
International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 2004
The prevalence of overweight (OW) among children in the United States has increased during the last three decades, but prevalence measures fail to reveal the extent to which OW children exceed the OW threshold. To measure the amount by which OW children exceed the OW threshold. To examine the trend in this measure over the last three decades using data with measured weights and heights. Data used for analysis are from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for persons between 2 and 19 y of age from 1971 to 2000. Anthropometric measures were obtained by trained health technicians, and the sample sizes range from 4037 in 1999-2000 to 10,590 in 1988-1994. The extent of OW is measured as the average amount by which each child's body mass index (BMI) exceeds their age and gender-specific OW threshold. This measure is examined by sex, age group and race/ethnicity. The OW threshold for those aged 2-19 y is defined as at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-spe...
Population Health Issue: Childhood Obesity
Academia Letters, 2021
Childhood obesity is steadily gaining prominence as a major public health issue in the United States (US) and globally. Over the last three decades, the growth in childhood obesity and overweight has received the attention of scholars, health policymakers, institutions, and the general public (Williams & Greene, 2018). According to recent findings, obese and overweight children are highly vulnerable to the problem of obesity in adulthood, making it important to adopt, comprehensive, holistic and multi-sectorial interventions and programs aimed at managing, preventing and responding to this particular health issue. Notably, childhood obesity is recorded in children and teenagers with a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is at or above the 95th percentile for their respective age, height, weight and gender (Yusuf et al, 2020). Precisely, the BMI is a representation of the ratio of weight (in kilograms) to height (in meters). As a complex and serious public health problem in the United States and beyond, obesity in young children and adolescents is attributed to a myriad of causal factors including lack of access to healthy food options, absence of regular physical activity, regular exposure to unhealthy food adverts, poor food choices, hereditary and environmental factors (Kumar & Kelly, 2017). As a result, the problem of childhood obesity as experienced in the modern American society can be attributed to the physical environment, genetics and ecological aspects including the family, lifestyles, school and the community. Although obesity is a persistent health issue affecting all population demographics in the country, childhood obesity is a complex public health issue with additional consequences due to the high vulnerability of the affected populace (NASEM, 2016). According to Donahue (2018), severe obesity in children and adolescents is associated with an enhanced risk of poor health outcomes,