An official website of the United States government
Health E-Stat 112: Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Severe Obesity Among Children and Adolescents Ages 2–19 Years: United States, 1963–1965 Through August 2021–August 2023
by Adi Noiman, Ph.D., Cheryl D. Fryar, M.S.P.H., Nadia T. Saif, M.D., and Joseph Afful, M.S.
Body mass index (BMI), expressed as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m2), is commonly used to classify obesity among adults and is also recommended for use with children and adolescents. Cutoff criteria are based on the sex-specific BMI-for-age 2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States (https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/cdc-growth-charts.htm). Based on recommendations from expert committees, children and adolescents with BMI values at or above the 95th percentile of the growth charts are categorized as having obesity. Severe obesity is BMI at or above 120% of the 95th percentile. This report presents historical trends in overweight, obesity, and severe obesity over time by age, sex, and race and ethnicity among children and adolescents using measured heights and weights from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
In August 2021–August 2023, an estimated 21.1% of U.S. children and adolescents ages 2–19 years had obesity, including 7.0% with severe obesity and another 15.1% who were overweight.
Table 1 shows the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among children and adolescents ages 2–19 years from 1971–1974 through August 2021–August 2023. Table 2 shows the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents ages 2–5, 6–11, and 12–19 since 1963–1965 by sex and age. The Figure shows trends in obesity by age. Table 3 shows the prevalence of obesity by race and Hispanic origin and sex among children and adolescents ages 2–19 since 1988–1994.
Data source and methods
NHANES, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, is a stratified, multistage probability sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. NHANES included oversampling of total Hispanic people starting in 2007–2008 and of Asian non-Hispanic people starting in 2011–2012. Data collection was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and resumed in August 2021 with a new sample design that included no oversampling by race and Hispanic origin.
A household interview and a health examination are conducted for each survey participant. During the health examination, conducted in a mobile examination center, height and weight are measured as part of a more comprehensive set of body measurements. These measurements are taken by trained health technicians, using standardized measuring procedures and equipment. Data for people missing a valid height or weight measurement and for pregnant females are not included in the data analysis. Although BMI is widely used as a measure of body fat, at a given BMI level, body fat may vary by sex, age, and race and Hispanic origin. Research suggests that health risks may begin at a lower BMI among Asian people compared with others (1,2). Additionally, research suggests that BMI overestimates adiposity (body fat) among Black non-Hispanic children and adolescents at a given BMI compared with others (3).
Examination sample weights and design variables were used to account for the complex sample design. Analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) and SAS-callable SUDAAN version 11.0 (RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC).
Visit the NHANES website for additional information on methods (https://wwwn.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/analyticguidelines.aspx).
For more detailed estimates, see:
- Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. JAMA. 2002 Oct;288(14):1728–32.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999–2004. JAMA. 2006 Apr;295(13):1549–55.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. High body mass index for age among US children and adolescents, 2003–2006. JAMA. 2008 May;299(20):2401–5.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Lamb MM, Flegal KM. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007–2008. JAMA. 2010 Jan;303(3):242–9.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999–2010. JAMA. 2012 Feb;307(5):483–90.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011–2012. JAMA. 2014 Feb;311(8):806–14.
- Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Lawman HG, Fryar CD, Kruszon-Moran D, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Trends in obesity prevalence among children and adolescents in the United States, 1988–1994 through 2013–2014. JAMA. 2016 Jun;315(21):2292–9.
- Hales CM, Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Freedman DS, Ogden CL. Trends in obesity and severe obesity prevalence in US youth and adults by sex and age, 2007–2008 to 2015–2016. JAMA. 2018 Apr;319(16):1723–5.
- Ogden CL, Fryar CD, Martin CB, Freedman DS, Carroll MD, Gu Q, Hales CM. Trends in obesity prevalence by race and Hispanic origin—1999–2000 to 2017–2018. JAMA. 2020 Sep;324(12):1208–10. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.14590.
- Emmerich SD, Fryar CD, Stierman B, Gu Q, Afful J, Ogden CL. Trends in obesity-related measures among US children, adolescents, and adults. JAMA. 2025 Mar;333(12):1082–4. PMID: 39946125; PMCID: PMC11826431. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.27676.
This Health E-Stat supersedes the earlier version, Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Severe Obesity Among Children and Adolescents Aged 2–19 Years: United States, 1963–1965 Through 2017–2018 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obesity-child.htm).
References
- Deurenberg P, Deurenberg-Yap M, Guricci S. Asians are different from Caucasians and from each other in their body mass index/body fat per cent relationship. Obes Rev. 2002 Aug;3(3):141–6.
- Jafar TH, Islam M, Poulter N, Hatcher J, Schmid CH, Levey AS, et al. Children in South Asia have higher body mass-adjusted blood pressure levels than white children in the United States: A comparative study. Circulation. 2005 Mar;111(10):1291–7.
- Flegal KM, Ogden CL, Yanovski JA, Freedman DS, Shepherd JA, Graubard BI, et al. High adiposity and high body mass index-for-age in US children and adolescents overall and by race-ethnic group. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Apr;91(4):1020–6.
Suggested citation
Noiman AN, Fryar CD, Saif NT, Afful J. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and severe obesity among children and adolescents ages 2–19 years: United States, 1963–1965 through August 2021–August 2023. NCHS Health E-Stat. 2025 Feb;(112)1–7. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/174645.
Tables
| Survey period | Sample (n) | All1 | Boys | Girls1 | |||||||||||||||
| Overweight | Obesity | Severe obesity | Overweight | Obesity | Severe obesity | Overweight | Obesity | Severe obesity | |||||||||||
| Percent (standard error) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1974 | 7,041 | 10.2 | (0.6) | 5.2 | (0.3) | 1.0 | (0.1) | 10.3 | (0.8) | 5.3 | (0.5) | 1.0 | (0.2) | 10.1 | (0.8) | 5.1 | (0.4) | 1.0 | (0.2) |
| 1976–1980 | 7,351 | 9.2 | (0.4) | 5.5 | (0.4) | 1.3 | (0.2) | 9.4 | (0.6) | 5.4 | (0.4) | 1.2 | (0.3) | 9.0 | (0.5) | 5.6 | (0.6) | 1.3 | (0.3) |
| 1988–1994 | 10,777 | 13.0 | (0.7) | 10.0 | (0.5) | 2.6 | (0.4) | 12.6 | (0.9) | 10.2 | (0.7) | 2.7 | (0.5) | 13.4 | (0.9) | 9.8 | (0.8) | 2.6 | (0.4) |
| 1999–2000 | 4,039 | 14.2 | (0.9) | 13.9 | (0.9) | 3.6 | (0.5) | 15.0 | (1.9) | 14.0 | (1.2) | 3.7 | (0.7) | 13.4 | (0.8) | 13.8 | (1.1) | 3.6 | (0.6) |
| 2001–2002 | 4,261 | 14.6 | (0.6) | 15.4 | (0.9) | 5.2 | (0.5) | 14.2 | (0.7) | 16.4 | (1.0) | 6.1 | (0.8) | 15.0 | (0.9) | 14.3 | (1.3) | 4.2 | (0.6) |
| 2003–2004 | 3,961 | 16.5 | (0.8) | 17.1 | (1.3) | 5.1 | (0.6) | 16.6 | (1.0) | 18.2 | (1.5) | 5.4 | (0.8) | 16.3 | (0.9) | 16.0 | (1.4) | 4.7 | (0.7) |
| 2005–2006 | 4,207 | 14.6 | (0.9) | 15.4 | (1.4) | 4.7 | (0.6) | 14.7 | (1.2) | 15.9 | (1.5) | 4.9 | (0.8) | 14.6 | (1.0) | 14.9 | (1.6) | 4.5 | (0.7) |
| 2007–2008 | 3,249 | 14.8 | (0.7) | 16.8 | (1.3) | 4.9 | (0.6) | 14.3 | (0.7) | 17.7 | (1.4) | 5.5 | (0.8) | 15.4 | (1.5) | 15.9 | (1.5) | 4.3 | (0.8) |
| 2009–2010 | 3,408 | 14.9 | (0.8) | 16.9 | (0.7) | 5.6 | (0.6) | 14.4 | (1.0) | 18.6 | (1.1) | 6.4 | (1.0) | 15.4 | (0.9) | 15.0 | (0.8) | 4.7 | (0.6) |
| 2011–2012 | 3,355 | 14.9 | (0.9) | 16.9 | (1.0) | 5.6 | (0.7) | 15.4 | (1.3) | 16.7 | (1.4) | 5.7 | (0.9) | 14.5 | (1.4) | 17.2 | (1.2) | 5.5 | (0.8) |
| 2013–2014 | 3,523 | 16.2 | (0.6) | 17.2 | (1.1) | 6.0 | (0.6) | 16.4 | (0.8) | 17.2 | (1.3) | 5.6 | (0.6) | 16.0 | (1.0) | 17.1 | (1.6) | 6.3 | (0.9) |
| 2015–2016 | 3,340 | 16.6 | (0.8) | 18.5 | (1.3) | 5.6 | (0.8) | 15.7 | (1.0) | 19.1 | (1.7) | 6.3 | (1.0) | 17.6 | (1.2) | 17.8 | (1.2) | 4.9 | (0.9) |
| 2017–2018 | 2,824 | 16.1 | (0.8) | 19.3 | (1.0) | 6.1 | (0.7) | 14.7 | (1.2) | 20.5 | (1.1) | 6.9 | (0.9) | 17.6 | (1.1) | 18.0 | (1.4) | 5.2 | (0.7) |
| August 2021–August 2023 | 2,492 | 15.1 | (1.0) | 21.1 | (1.1) | 7.0 | (0.6) | 13.0 | (0.9) | 23.0 | (1.4) | 7.8 | (1.2) | 17.5 | (1.5) | 19.1 | (1.5) | 6.3 | (0.8) |
1Excludes pregnant females.
NOTE: Overweight is body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile and below the 95th percentile from the sex-specific BMI-for-age 2000 CDC Growth Charts, obesity is BMI at or above the 95th percentile, and severe obesity is BMI at or above 120% of the 95th percentile.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1971–1974, 1976–1980, 1988–1994, 1999–2018, and August 2021–August 2023.
| Survey period | All1 | Boys | Girls | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–5 | 6–11 | 12–19 | 2–5 | 6–11 | 12–19 | 2–5 | 6–11 | 12–19 | ||||||||||
| Percent (standard error) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1965 | – – – | 4.2 | (0.4) | – – – | – – – | 4.0 | (0.4) | – – – | – – – | 4.5 | (0.6) | – – – | ||||||
| 1966–19702 | – – – | – – – | 4.6 | (0.3) | – – – | – – – | 4.5 | (0.4) | – – – | – – – | 4.7 | (0.3) | ||||||
| 1971–1974 | 5.0 | (0.6) | 4.0 | (0.5) | 6.1 | (0.6) | 5.0 | (0.8) | 4.3 | (0.8) | 6.1 | (0.8) | 4.9 | (0.8) | 3.6 | (0.6) | 6.2 | (0.8) |
| 1976–1980 | 5.0 | (0.6) | 6.5 | (0.6) | 5.0 | (0.5) | 4.7 | (0.6) | 6.6 | (0.8) | 4.8 | (0.5) | 5.3 | (1.0) | 6.4 | (1.0) | 5.3 | (0.8) |
| 1988–1994 | 7.2 | (0.7) | 11.3 | (1.0) | 10.5 | (0.9) | 6.2 | (0.8) | 11.6 | (1.3) | 11.3 | (1.3) | 8.2 | (1.0) | 11.0 | (1.4) | 9.7 | (1.1) |
| 1999–2000 | 10.3 | (1.7) | 15.1 | (1.4) | 14.8 | (0.9) | 9.5 | (2.3) | 15.8 | (1.8) | 14.8 | (1.3) | 11.2 | (2.5) | 14.3 | (2.1) | 14.8 | (1.0) |
| 2001–2002 | 10.6 | (1.8) | 16.2 | (1.6) | 16.7 | (1.1) | 10.7 | (2.4) | 17.5 | (1.9) | 17.6 | (1.3) | 10.5 | (1.8) | 14.8 | (2.3) | 15.7 | (1.9) |
| 2003–2004 | 13.9 | (1.6) | 18.8 | (1.3) | 17.4 | (1.7) | 15.1 | (1.7) | 19.9 | (2.0) | 18.2 | (1.9) | 12.7 | (2.5) | 17.6 | (1.3) | 16.4 | (2.3) |
| 2005–2006 | 10.7 | (1.1) | 15.1 | (2.1) | 17.8 | (1.8) | 10.4 | (1.7) | 16.2 | (2.5) | 18.2 | (2.4) | 11.0 | (1.2) | 14.1 | (2.4) | 17.3 | (2.1) |
| 2007–2008 | 10.1 | (1.2) | 19.6 | (1.2) | 18.1 | (1.7) | 9.3 | (1.5) | 21.2 | (1.6) | 19.3 | (2.2) | 10.9 | (2.1) | 18.0 | (2.1) | 16.8 | (2.0) |
| 2009–2010 | 12.1 | (1.2) | 18.0 | (0.8) | 18.4 | (1.3) | 14.4 | (1.8) | 20.1 | (1.0) | 19.6 | (2.3) | 9.6 | (1.7) | 15.7 | (1.0) | 17.1 | (1.3) |
| 2011–2012 | 8.4 | (1.3) | 17.7 | (1.6) | 20.5 | (1.7) | 9.5 | (1.9) | 16.4 | (1.8) | 20.3 | (2.4) | *7.2 | (2.1) | 19.1 | (1.7) | 20.7 | (2.0) |
| 2013–2014 | 9.4 | (1.3) | 17.4 | (1.7) | 20.6 | (2.1) | 8.8 | (2.0) | 18.8 | (2.4) | 19.8 | (2.2) | 10.0 | (1.3) | 15.9 | (1.9) | 21.4 | (3.2) |
| 2015–2016 | 13.9 | (1.1) | 18.4 | (1.7) | 20.6 | (2.0) | 14.3 | (1.2) | 20.4 | (2.1) | 20.2 | (2.6) | 13.5 | (1.7) | 16.3 | (1.8) | 20.9 | (2.0) |
| 2017–2018 | 13.4 | (1.3) | 20.3 | (1.8) | 21.2 | (1.3) | 14.7 | (1.8) | 21.3 | (2.3) | 22.5 | (1.3) | 12.2 | (1.4) | 19.2 | (2.1) | 19.9 | (2.2) |
| August 2021–August 2023 | 14.9 | (1.3) | 22.1 | (2.0) | 22.9 | (1.7) | 14.6 | (2.2) | 23.7 | (3.5) | 26.0 | (1.8) | 15.2 | (1.9) | 20.4 | (2.1) | 19.6 | (2.2) |
– – – Data not available because National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey period 1963–1965 did not include ages 2–5 or 12–19 and 1966–1970 did not includes ages 2–5 or 6–11
* Estimate has a confidence interval width between 5 and 30 and a relative confidence interval width of greater than 130% and does not meet National Center for Health Statistics standards of reliability or precision; see Series 2, Number 175 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_175.pdf)
1Excludes pregnant females starting with 1971–1974 Pregnancy status is not available for survey periods 1963–1965 and 1966–1970
2Data are for adolescents ages 12–17, not 12–19
NOTE: Obesity is body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile from the sex-specific BMI-for-age 2000 CDC Growth Charts
SOURCES: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Examination Surveys, 1963–1965 and 1966–1970; and National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1971–1974, 1976–1980, 1988–1994, 1999–2018, and August 2021–August 2023
| Survey period | Boys | Girls1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Asian, non-Hispanic | Black, non-Hispanic | Hispanic | Mexican American | White, non-Hispanic | Asian, non-Hispanic | Black, non-Hispanic | Hispanic | Mexican American | White, non-Hispanic | |||||||||||
| Percent (standard error) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1994 | – – – | 10.6 | (0.8) | – – – | 14.8 | (1.4) | 9.7 | (1.1) | – – – | 14.5 | (1.1) | – – – | 13.8 | (1.9) | 8.6 | (1.1) | ||||
| 1999–2000 | – – – | 16.4 | (1.2) | – – – | 23.5 | (1.5) | 10.9 | (1.5) | – – – | 21.4 | (1.4) | – – – | 16.8 | (1.9) | 11.1 | (1.8) | ||||
| 2001–2002 | – – – | 15.5 | (1.3) | – – – | 22.0 | (1.3) | 15.0 | (1.5) | – – – | 19.5 | (1.3) | – – – | 17.0 | (1.9) | 12.7 | (1.9) | ||||
| 2003–2004 | – – – | 16.4 | (1.5) | – – – | 22.0 | (1.6) | 17.8 | (2.2) | – – – | 23.8 | (1.4) | – – – | 16.1 | (2.3) | 14.9 | (1.9) | ||||
| 2005–2006 | – – – | 18.3 | (1.3) | – – – | 24.3 | (2.7) | 13.4 | (1.9) | – – – | 24.4 | (2.2) | – – – | 20.6 | (1.6) | 12.2 | (2.2) | ||||
| 2007–2008 | – – – | 17.3 | (2.2) | 24.5 | (1.7) | 24.9 | (2.3) | 15.6 | (1.9) | – – – | 22.8 | (2.4) | 17.3 | (1.7) | 16.6 | (2.5) | 14.9 | (2.5) | ||
| 2009–2010 | – – – | 24.3 | (2.8) | 23.4 | (1.4) | 24.0 | (1.7) | 16.1 | (1.8) | – – – | 24.3 | (2.6) | 18.9 | (1.8) | 18.2 | (2.5) | 11.7 | (1.1) | ||
| 2011–2012 | 11.5 | (2.1) | 19.9 | (1.1) | 24.1 | (1.4) | 24.2 | (1.5) | 12.6 | (2.4) | *5.6 | (2.4) | 20.5 | (3.1) | 20.6 | (1.5) | 21.1 | (1.7) | 15.6 | (2.1) |
| 2013–2014 | 12.1 | (3.0) | 16.8 | (1.9) | 20.6 | (2.0) | 19.5 | (2.1) | 15.9 | (2.0) | *5.0 | (1.0) | 20.9 | (1.6) | 22.1 | (2.1) | 24.2 | (2.8) | 14.6 | (2.8) |
| 2015–2016 | 11.7 | (2.2) | 19.0 | (2.7) | 28.0 | (2.8) | 29.2 | (2.1) | 14.6 | (1.6) | 10.1 | (2.2) | 25.1 | (4.2) | 23.6 | (1.8) | 24.3 | (2.3) | 13.5 | (1.4) |
| 2017–2018 | 12.4 | (2.4) | 19.4 | (2.0) | 28.1 | (3.3) | 29.2 | (3.1) | 17.4 | (1.5) | 5.1 | (1.5) | 29.1 | (2.9) | 23.0 | (2.6) | 24.9 | (3.0) | 14.8 | (2.4) |
| August 2021–August 2023 | *14.2 | (4.1) | †38.1 | (5.7) | 29.8 | (3.9) | *31.4 | (6.9) | 18.7 | (1.6) | *7.4 | (2.2) | 29.9 | (5.6) | 23.1 | (2.5) | 23.1 | (2.8) | 15.7 | (1.6) |
– – – Data not available.
* Estimate has a confidence interval width between 5 and 30 and a relative confidence interval width greater than 130% and does not meet NCHS standards of reliability or precision; see Series 2, Number 175
(https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_02/sr02_175.pdf).
† See Ogden et al. for more discussion about estimates by race and ethnicity using August 2021–August 2023 NHANES data: Ogden CL, Emmerich SD, Stierman B, Chen T-C, Simon AE, Freedman DS, et al. Obesity among children and adolescents in NHANES August 2021–August 2023: An examination of race/Hispanic origin subgroup estimates. Pediatr Obes. 2025 Oct;20(10):e70041. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.70041.
1Excludes pregnant females.
NOTE: Obesity is body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile from the sex-specific BMI-for-age 2000 CDC Growth Charts.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994, 1999–2018, and August 2021–August 2023.