Data and Statsitics

Overweight and Obesity Trends Among Adults

County-Specific Diabetes and Obesity Prevalence, 2007
Wide sections of the Southeast, Appalachia, and some tribal lands in the West and Northern Plains have the nation's highest rates of obesity and diabetes. In many counties in those regions, rates of diagnosed diabetes exceed 10 percent and obesity prevalence is more than 30 percent.

Obesity Data Shows Blacks Have the Highest Rates of Obesity
Blacks had 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity, and Hispanics had 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites.

CDC Study Finds No Increase in Obesity Among Adults; But Levels Still High, 2005–2006 (PDF-204k)
After a quarter century of increases, obesity prevalence has not measurably increased in the past few years but levels are still high — at 34 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 and over.

Prevalence of overweight, obesity and extreme obesity among adults: United States, trends 1960-62 through 2005-2006
Results from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicate that an estimated 32.7 percent of U.S. adults 20 years and older are overweight, 34.3 percent are obese and 5.9 percent are extremely obese.

Overweight Trends Among Children and Adolescents

Obesity Prevalence Among Low-Income, Preschool-Aged Children 1998–2008
One of 7 low-income, preschool-aged children is obese, but the obesity epidemic may be stabilizing. The prevalence of obesity in low-income two to four year-olds increased from 12.4 percent in 1998 to 14.5 percent in 2003 but rose to only 14.6 percent in 2008.

Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 2003-2004
Results from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicate that an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are overweight. Overweight increased from 7.2 to 13.9% among 2-5 year olds and from 11 to 19% among 6-11 year olds between 1988-94 and 2003-2004. Among adolescents aged 12-19, overweight increased from 11 to 17% during the same period.

High Body Mass Index for Age Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, 2003–2006
This Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) article reports the prevalence of high body mass index (BMI) for age among children and adolescents showed no significant changes between 2003–2004 and 2005–2006 and no significant trends between 1999 and 2006. Rates of overweight and obesity remain high with 31.9% of children and adolescents aged 2 through 19 years at or above the 85th percentile of the 2000 BMI-for-age growth charts.

Related Resources

The Economic Consequences of Overweight and Obesity
Includes national estimated cost and state-level estimated costs of overweight and obesity in the U.S.

CDC's Cancer Atlas
If you're interested in worldwide obesity statistics, CDC's Cancer Atlas tracks some data in their Risk Factors section.

National Diabetes Surveillance System

BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

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