Childhood Obesity

The fact is we have a childhood obesity and overweight epidemic.
  • 32% of American children and adolescents are overweight or obese. In the combined years of 2003 to 2006, 16.3% of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 years were obese (NHANES survey).
  • The childhood obesity rate over the past three decades has more than doubled for pre-school 2- to 5-year-olds and 12- to 19-year-olds, and it has more than tripled for children ages 6 to 11 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
  • Obesity is of great concern for minority populations.
  • 28% of African-American girls ages 12 to 19 are obese, as are 20% of Mexican-American girls.
  • 18.5% of African-American and 22% of Mexican-American boys are overweight or obese. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008).)

In Greater Rochester, N.Y., a recent study showed that nearly 40% of children ages 2 to 18 living in the city are overweight or obese, and in the suburbs it’s 25% (study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Golisano Children’s Hospital and funded by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation).

Why the concern? Because obesity increases the risk of other diseases and health conditions, such as:
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Asthma
Just the Facts: the Need for Exercise

  • $61 billion – estimated direct costs of treating obesity-related diseases (American Heart Association)
  • 31.9% - children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 at or above the 85th percentile of the BMI (Body Mass Index)-for-age growth charts (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2008)
  • 70% - chance that an overweight adolescent has of being overweight or obese as an adult (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)
  • 3+ hours – the average time per school day that 35% of students spend watching TV (National YRBS, 1991-2007)
  • 92% - percentage of elementary schools without daily physical education classes year-round (MMWR, 2006)
  • 1/3 - elementary schools that do not schedule recess on a regular basis. Some schools lack the space to play while others believe that recess is a waste of time (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005)
  • 35% - percentage of students who are physically active for at least 60 minutes per school day (National YRBS, 1991-2007)