Overweight, Obesity Remained Highly Prevalent in U.S. Youths in 2024

TUESDAY, Feb. 17, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Excess youth overweight and obesity remained highly prevalent in the United States in 2024, according to a study published online Feb. 10 in JAMA Network Open.

William J. Heerman, M.D., M.P.H., from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and colleagues used electronic health records from the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, which included eight clinical research networks, to provide updated estimates of youth overweight, obesity, and severe obesity.

Data were available for 6,094,825 youths across the United States, with broad geographic representation. The researchers found that 19.8 percent of youths aged 2 to 19 years had obesity. Overall, 26.9 percent of children aged 2 to 5 years had overweight or obesity, increasing to 38.5 percent at ages 12 to 19 years. Among adolescents and young adults, 9.2 percent had severe obesity. Among those aged 12 to 19 years, healthy weight was seen in 49.5, 52.3, 49.1, 47.3, and 59.3 percent of American Indian or Alaska Natives, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, and Whites, respectively.

“These results demonstrate the uneven distribution of obesity and severe obesity across youths in the U.S. and underscore the need for ongoing treatment, prevention, and public health interventions to reduce excess adiposity in youths,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to AstraZeneca.

Abstract/Full Text