Childhood Obesity Fact Sheet

• More than a quarter of a million U.S. children ages 1 to 6 are heavier than the weight limits for standard car seats, and most are 3-year-olds who weigh more than 40 pounds.¹
  
• In the past 30 years, the rate of childhood obesity has more than tripled for children between the ages of 6-11.²
  
• According to a 2005 Institute of Medicine report, approximately 9 million children over the age of six are considered obese.³
  
• Journal of American Medical Association: 33.6% of children and teens ages 2 to 19 are overweight in 2004.
  
• A New England Journal of Medicine article published in 2005 reported that children being born today are the first generation of young Americans who are expected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents of grandparents.
  
• Children face enormous health challenges brought on by poor nutrition and physical inactivity. Overweight children are at increased risk of suffering from “adult” diseases such as high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high insulin (type II diabetes) or high blood pressure.⁴
  
• It is estimated that one-third of all cancers are caused by poor nutrition, overweight and/or inactivity.⁵
  
• According to the US Surgeon General, treatments for these obesity-related health problems costs us $177 billion annually plus another $132 billion for type 2 diabetes alone. In comparison, smoking related diseases cost us $50 to 73 billion each year.⁶
  
• When children/teens eat fast food, they consume more calories, fat, carbohydrates, added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages. They also consume less fiber and milk, and fewer fruits and non-starchy vegetables.⁷
  
• Among high school students, only 23.6 percent of males and 20.3 percent of females eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day.⁸
  
• Many schools have dropped or reduced their physical education programs, and some communities lack sufficient recreational facilities. Also, kids are spending more of their free time watching television, surfing the Internet or playing video games.⁹
  
• Nearly 23 percent of children don’t engage in any free-time physical activity, and 60 percent of children ages 9–13 don’t participate in any organized sports or physical activity program outside of school.¹⁰ More than 70 percent of high school students don’t attend physical education classes daily.¹¹
• When students eat a well-balanced meal, such as a school breakfast, they have higher sustained energy levels than children who select foods from only one or two food groups that are often high in sugar or fat.⁹
  
• Undernourishment impacts the behavior of children, their school performance and their ability to concentrate and perform complex tasks.¹⁰

¹ Tanner L. (Associated Press) “Car seats can’t hold obese kids,” The Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL; April 4, 2006.
² Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999-2000. JAMA 2002; 288:14. Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children, adolescents and adults 1999-2002. JAMA 2004; 291:23.
³ Institute of Medicine, Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance (Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2005).
⁴ Freedman DS, Dietz WH, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS. The relation of overweight to cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents: The Bogalusa Study. Pediatrics 1999; 103: 1175-82.
⁵ Bosetti C, Malvezzi M, Chatenoud L, Negri E, Levi F, La Vecchia C. Trends in cancer mortality in the Americas, 1970-2000. Annals of Oncology, March 1, 2005; 16(3): 489 - 511.
⁶ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; [2001]. Available from: US GPO, Washington.
⁷ Bowman SA, Gortmaker SL, Ebbeling CB, Pereira MA, Ludwig DS. Effects of fast food consumption on energy intake and diet quality among children in a national household survey. Pediatrics 2004; 113[1]: 112-8.
⁸Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – United States, 2003. MMWR 2004; 53[SS-2].
⁹ A Nation at Risk: Obesity in the United States. The Robert Wood Johnston Foundation and the American Heart Association. May 2005: 25.
¹⁰ Physical activity levels among children aged 9-13 years – United States, 2002. MMWR 2003; 52[33]:785-8. ¹¹ Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – United States, 2003. MMWR 2004; 53[SS-2].

Sources:

"Childhood Obesity: Most Experts Identified Physical Activity and the Use of best Practices as Key to Successful Programs. Briefing for Staff of Congressional Requesters." September, 2005.

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Dec 13, 2001.

Rand Report published in the British Journal of Public Health, June 2001