Obesity Rates Continue to Climb Among U.S. Kids, Teens

MONDAY, July 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — For the primary time ever, greater than 1 in 5 American youngsters is overweight.

From 2011 to 2012 and once more from 2017 to 2020, charges of weight problems rose for youths between 2 and 5 years of age in addition to 12- to 19-year-olds, a brand new evaluation of nationwide well being survey information exhibits. And the uptick was true for U.S. youngsters of each race and ethnic background, in line with research chief Amanda Staiano.

“The proportion of youngsters having weight problems elevated from 18% within the 2011 cycle to 22% within the 2020 cycle,” stated Staiano, director of the pediatric weight problems and well being habits lab at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

“What is much more alarming is these information had been all collected previous to the COVID-19 pandemic, and different information printed just lately present that children are gaining much more weight due to restrictions to their food regimen and exercise through the pandemic,” she stated.

Staiano fears the numbers will probably be even worse within the subsequent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Obesity has vital well being penalties, she stated, from some cancers to diabetes, coronary heart illness, bronchial asthma, joint issues, nervousness and melancholy.

“Kids are bearing the price of this illness, and adults are paying for the added well being care prices of youngsters rising up with ailments and needing therapy,” Staiano stated. “Kids who aren’t consuming nutritious diets are likely to carry out worse at school, and so weight problems impacts each space of a kid’s life.”

For the research, she and her Pennington Center colleague Kathy Hu analyzed information on practically 15,000 U.S. kids and teenagers who took half within the nationwide well being and diet survey in 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2015-2016 and 2017-2020.

Among 2- to 19-year-olds, weight problems surged from 17.7% between 2011 and 2012 to 21.5% within the 2017-2020 survey.

During the decade-long span, weight problems charges amongst boys rose from 18% to 21.4%, and amongst women from 17% to 21.6%.

While weight problems charges rose considerably in preschoolers and teenagers, they didn’t amongst 6- to 11-year-olds.