What to know
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The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released two reports detailing the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity over time among U.S. adults and children. These reports use previously released data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and update earlier obesity health e-stat reports that included information only up to 2017-2018, providing updated historical data on these trends.
Adults (August 2021 - August 2023)
- Obesity: 40.3% of adults ages 20 and older had obesity.
- Severe Obesity: 9.7% had severe obesity (included in the 40.3% with obesity).
- Overweight: 31.7% were in the overweight category.
Children and Adolescents (August 2021 - August 2023)
- Obesity: 21.1% of children and teens ages 2 to 19 had obesity.
- Severe Obesity: 7% had severe obesity (included in the 21.1% with obesity).
- Overweight:15.1% were in the overweight category.
Defining Obesity
Obesity was defined using Body Mass Index (BMI)—weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
BMI of 25.0–29.9 in adults was categorized as overweight. BMI at or above 30.0 in adults was categorized as obesity. BMI at or above 40.0 in adults was categorized as severe obesity.
Children and adolescents with BMI values at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific BMI-for-age 2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States were categorized as having obesity. Those with BMI at or above 120% of the 95th percentile were categorized as having severe obesity.
Pregnant females and individuals missing valid height or weight measurements were not included in the analysis.
Source
NHANES collects data from a randomly selected, nationally representative group of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in the United States. Participants undergo a household interview and a health exam at a mobile examination center, where trained health technicians measure height and weight using standard procedures.