2011 to 2023 Saw Increase in Prevalence of Obesity Among Children

WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of obesity increased among children and adolescents from 2011 to 2023, with the increase most pronounced among Black youths, according to a study published online July 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Michael Liu, M.D., from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues examined obesity and severe obesity among U.S. children and adolescents overall and by age, race, and ethnicity from 2011 to August 2023 using serial cross-sectional data from the survey cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The study population included 17,507 children and adolescents. The researchers observed an increase in the overall prevalence of obesity, from 20.3 percent in January 2011 to March 2020 to 22.0 percent in August 2021 to August 2023. The increase was most pronounced among Black children and adolescents, increasing from 22.4 to 35.8 percent. Overall and across all subgroups, the prevalence of severe obesity remained stable between 2011 and August 2023. By the end of the study period (August 2021 to August 2023), the highest prevalence of obesity was seen among Black, Mexican American, and other Hispanic youth (35.8, 28.1, and 25.9 percent, respectively). There was no overall increase in obesity prevalence during the pandemic relative to the prepandemic period, but a pandemic-related increase in obesity prevalence was seen among Black children and adolescents (adjusted difference, 10.4 percentage points).

“Public health and policy interventions are urgently needed to prevent and manage the rising tide of childhood obesity among minoritized populations,” the authors write.

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