Obesity In Children Research

OBESITY AROUND THE WORLD

Percent of adults who are obese* Men Women

Obesity and Overweight in Children

AHA Recommendation

Obese children are more likely to be obese adults. 

Obesity is too much body fat.

Among American children ages 6-11

• For whites (only), 11.9 percent of boys and 12.0 percent of girls.
• For non-Hispanic blacks or African Americans (only), 17.6 percent of boys and 22.1 percent of girls. 
• For Mexican Americans, 27.3 percent of boys and 19.6 percent of girls. 

Among adolescents ages 12-19

• For whites (only), 13.0 percent of boys and 12.2 percent of girls. 
• For blacks or African Americans (only), 20.5 percent of boys and 25.7 percent of girls. 
• For Mexicans, 27.5 percent of boys and 19.4 percent of girls. 

How do you prevent and treat obesity in children?

Reaching and maintaining an appropriate body weight is important.

• Reducing dietary fat is the easiest change.
• Becoming more active is widely recommended. (physical activity)
• Parents' involvement and modeling healthy eating and activity.

The importance of continuing these lifestyle changes well past the initial treatment period should be emphasized to the entire family. The healthiest way to change weight is gradually.

Obesity Statistics - Children

International Child Obesity

Obesity has reached such epidemic proportions that world health officials have decided they need to take a more aggressive approach if they are to head off a global explosion of fat-related diseases.

In the last two years, experts have confirmed that obesity causes diabetes and heart disease .

International Obesity Task Force

It is estimated that 22 million of the world's children under 5 are overweight or obese.

Research indicates that in some parts of Africa, fatness and obesity afflicts more children than malnutrition does - sometimes four times as many.

The organization estimates that 300 million people worldwide are obese and 750 million more are overweight.

In the United States, some 60 percent of adults are overweight or obese, as are nearly 13 percent of children.

The obesity task force estimates that in some countries, more than 30 percent of the children are obese.

In Egypt more than 25 percent of 4-year-olds are fat and that obesity rates are also more than 25 percent among children aged between 4 and 10 in Chile, Peru and Mexico.

Obesity Statistics

Obesity in European & Australia

Table 1. Percentage of Men and Women who are Obese in Europe and Australia

Secular Trends of obesity world-wide (BMI > 30)

Obesity global prevalence world-wide (BMI > 30) (IOTF)

PREVALENCE IN CHILDREN

Prevalence and Trends

• Approximately 30.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are overweight and 15.3 percent are obese. For adolescents (ages 12 to 19), 30.4 percent are overweight and 15.5 percent are obese.
• Excess weight in childhood and adolescence has been found to predict overweight in adults. Overweight children, aged 10 to 14, with at least one overweight or obese parent (BMI> 27.3 for women and > 27.8 for men in one study), were reported to have a 79 percent likelihood of overweight persisting into adulthood.

Gender

• Overweight prevalence is higher in boys (32.7 percent) than girls (27.8 percent). In adolescents, overweight prevalence is about the same for females (30.2 percent) and males (30.5 percent).
• The prevalence of obesity quadrupled over 25 years among boys and girls, as shown in Table 1.

Obesity prevalence more than doubled over 25 years among adolescent males and females, as shown in Table 2.

Race

• African American, Hispanic American and Native American children and adolescents have particularly high obesity prevalence.
• Overweight (85th percentile) and obesity (95th percentile) prevalence for children and adolescents is presented by racial group in Table 3

• 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.

Informational sites

http://www.weight-loss-i.com/weight-loss-obesity.htm

http://www.obesity.chair.ulaval.ca/iotf.htm

http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml

http://www.suntimes.com/special_sections/fat/cst-nws-worldchart02.html

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4670

http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/child-obesity-stats.htm

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/nutrit/pubs/statobes.htm

http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml

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