The prevalence of obesity in the United States has risen gradually over the past decade. As of 2023, around ** percent of the population aged 18 years and older was obese. Obesity is a growing problem in many parts of the world, but is particularly troubling in the United States. Obesity in the United States The states with the highest prevalence of obesity are West Virginia, Mississippi, and Arkansas. As of 2023, a shocking ** percent of the population in West Virginia were obese. The percentage of adults aged 65 years and older who are obese has grown in recent years, compounding health issues that develop with age. Health impacts of obesity Obesity is linked to several negative health impacts including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Unsurprisingly, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has increased in the United States over the years. As of 2022, around *** percent of the population had been diagnosed with diabetes. Some of the most common types of cancers caused by obesity include breast cancer in postmenopausal women, colon and rectum cancer, and corpus and uterus cancer.
Between 2015 and 2018, obesity rates in U.S. children and adolescents stood at 19.3 and 20.9 percent, respectively. This is a noteworthy increase compared to the percentages seen between 1988 and 1994.
U.S. high school obesity rates
Roughly 18 percent of black, as well as Hispanic students in the United States, were obese between 2016 and 2017. Male obesity rates were noticeably higher than those of female students for each of the ethnicities during the measured period. For example, about 22 percent of male Hispanic high school students were obese, compared to 14 percent of female students. The American states with the highest number of obese high school students in 2019 included Mississippi, West Virginia, and Arkansas, respectively. Mississippi had a high school student obesity rate of over 23 percent that year.
Physically inactive Americans
Adults from Mississippi and Arkansas were also reported to be some of the least physically active people in the United States in 2018. When surveyed, over 30 percent of adults from Kentucky and Arkansas had not exercised within the preceding 30 days. The national physical inactivity average stood at approximately 26 percent that year.
The prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States has nearly doubled in the last three decades with 42 percent of adults obese in 2018. This statistic presents the prevalence of obesity (BMI of 30 kg/m2 and over) among adults in the United States from 1988-1994 to 2017-2018.
Data on normal weight, overweight, and obesity among adults aged 20 and over by selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. SOURCE: NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. For more information on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, see the corresponding Appendix entry at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-appendix-508.pdf.
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This report presents information on obesity, physical activity and diet drawn together from a variety of sources for England. More information can be found in the source publications which contain a wider range of data and analysis. Each section provides an overview of key findings, as well as providing links to relevant documents and sources. Some of the data have been published previously by NHS Digital. A data visualisation tool (link provided within the key facts) allows users to select obesity related hospital admissions data for any Local Authority (as contained in the data tables), along with time series data from 2013/14. Regional and national comparisons are also provided. The report includes information on: Obesity related hospital admissions, including obesity related bariatric surgery. Obesity prevalence. Physical activity levels. Walking and cycling rates. Prescriptions items for the treatment of obesity. Perception of weight and weight management. Food and drink purchases and expenditure. Fruit and vegetable consumption. Key facts cover the latest year of data available: Hospital admissions: 2018/19 Adult obesity: 2018 Childhood obesity: 2018/19 Adult physical activity: 12 months to November 2019 Children and young people's physical activity: 2018/19 academic year
Data on obesity among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years by selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. SOURCE: NCHS, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. For more information on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, see the corresponding Appendix entry at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-appendix-508.pdf.
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This statistical report presents information on obesity, physical activity and diet, drawn together from a variety of sources. The topics covered include: Obesity related hospital admissions. Prescription items for the treatment of obesity. Adult obesity prevalence. Childhood obesity prevalence. Physical activity levels among adults and children. Diet among adults and children, including trends in purchases, and consumption of food and drink and energy intake. Each section provides an overview of the key findings from these sources, as well as providing sources of further information and links to relevant documents and sources. Some of the data have been published previously by NHS Digital. A data visualisation tool at the link below allows users to select obesity related hospital admissions data for any Local Authority (as contained in Excel tables 3, 7 and 11 of this publication), along with time series data from 2013/14. Regional and national comparisons are also provided.
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United States US: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: Female: % of Children Under 5 data was reported at 6.900 % in 2012. This records an increase from the previous number of 6.400 % for 2009. United States US: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: Female: % of Children Under 5 data is updated yearly, averaging 6.900 % from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.700 % in 2005 and a record low of 5.100 % in 1991. United States US: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: Female: % of Children Under 5 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight, female, is the percentage of girls under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's new child growth standards released in 2006.; ; World Health Organization, Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition. Country-level data are unadjusted data from national surveys, and thus may not be comparable across countries.; Linear mixed-effect model estimates; Estimates of overweight children are also from national survey data. Once considered only a high-income economy problem, overweight children have become a growing concern in developing countries. Research shows an association between childhood obesity and a high prevalence of diabetes, respiratory disease, high blood pressure, and psychosocial and orthopedic disorders (de Onis and Blössner 2003). Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death, and disability in adulthood. In addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties and increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and psychological effects. Children in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to inadequate nutrition before birth and in infancy and early childhood. Many of these children are exposed to high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, calorie-dense, micronutrient-poor foods, which tend be lower in cost than more nutritious foods. These dietary patterns, in conjunction with low levels of physical activity, result in sharp increases in childhood obesity, while under-nutrition continues
West Virginia, Mississippi, and Arkansas are the U.S. states with the highest percentage of their population who are obese. The states with the lowest percentage of their population who are obese include Colorado, Hawaii, and Massachusetts. Obesity in the United States Obesity is a growing problem in many countries around the world, but the United States has the highest rate of obesity among all OECD countries. The prevalence of obesity in the United States has risen steadily over the previous two decades, with no signs of declining. Obesity in the U.S. is more common among women than men, and overweight and obesity rates are higher among African Americans than any other race or ethnicity. Causes and health impacts Obesity is most commonly the result of a combination of poor diet, overeating, physical inactivity, and a genetic susceptibility. Obesity is associated with various negative health impacts, including an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and diabetes type 2. As of 2022, around 8.4 percent of the U.S. population had been diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is currently the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.
This data represents the age-adjusted prevalence of high total cholesterol, hypertension, and obesity among US adults aged 20 and over between 1999-2000 to 2017-2018. Notes: All estimates are age adjusted by the direct method to the U.S. Census 2000 population using age groups 20–39, 40–59, and 60 and over. Definitions Hypertension: Systolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 80 mmHg, or currently taking medication to lower high blood pressure High total cholesterol: Serum total cholesterol greater than or equal to 240 mg/dL. Obesity: Body mass index (BMI, weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) greater than or equal to 30. Data Source and Methods Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) for the years 1999–2000, 2001–2002, 2003–2004, 2005–2006, 2007–2008, 2009–2010, 2011–2012, 2013–2014, 2015–2016, and 2017–2018 were used for these analyses. NHANES is a cross-sectional survey designed to monitor the health and nutritional status of the civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population. The survey consists of interviews conducted in participants’ homes and standardized physical examinations, including a blood draw, conducted in mobile examination centers.
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United States Prevalence of Overweight: % of Adults data was reported at 67.900 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 67.400 % for 2015. United States Prevalence of Overweight: % of Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 55.200 % from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2016, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 67.900 % in 2016 and a record low of 41.000 % in 1975. United States Prevalence of Overweight: % of Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight adults is the percentage of adults ages 18 and over whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is more than 25 kg/m2. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height, or the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters.;World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).;;
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Note August 2011: A number of errors have been identified in Table 7.5 - GHQ 12 score by body mass index (BMI) and gender, 2006 on page 164 of the Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, 2009 report. The errors also affect the corresponding table in the accompanying Excel workbook. The commentary in the pdf report is unaffected. Please see the errata note for further information and corrected figures. The NHS IC apologises for any inconvenience this may have caused. Summary: This publication presents a range of information on obesity, physical activity and diet, drawn together from a variety of sources. This publication also summarises government plans and targets in this area, as well as providing sources of further information and links to relevant documents and key sources. This, our third report on obesity, physical activity and diet includes: overweight and obesity prevalence among adults and children physical activity levels among adults and children trends in purchases and consumption of food and drink, and energy intake and health outcomes of being overweight or obese. For the first time, the report provides information on attitudes towards and knowledge about leading a healthy lifestyle for both adults and children. This includes information on how much physical activity should be done, barriers towards doing more physical activity, knowledge of the recommended daily number of portions of fruit and vegetables and attitudes towards a healthy diet.
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Analysis of ‘🧑 Childhood Obesity in the US’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/yamqwe/childhood-obesity-in-the-use on 13 February 2022.
--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---
Childhood Obesity in the United States (1971-2014)
data source: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity_child_13_14/obesity_child_13_14.htm
Data Files
- child_ob_gender.csv
- obesity_child_age
Visualizations
Historical Childhood Obesity Rate by Gender
Boys tended to suffer from obesity at a higher rate than girls during 2000 through 2010. More recently however, between 2011 and 2014, boys' and girls' obesity rates converged as a result of an increase for girls and decrease for boys.
For both genders, obesity rates grew rapidly during the last two decades of the 20th century, but thankfully growth rates have lessened in recent years.
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Historical Childhood Obesity Rate by Age
The data show that older children have been afflicted by the obesity epidemic at a higher rate than very young children.
http://i.imgur.com/7W2Bsz3.png" alt="Imgur" style="">
This dataset was created by Health and contains around 100 samples along with Se, Percent Obese, technical information and other features such as: - Gender - Time - and more.
- Analyze Age in relation to Se
- Study the influence of Percent Obese on Gender
- More datasets
If you use this dataset in your research, please credit Health
--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---
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Mali ML: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5 data was reported at 1.900 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.000 % for 2010. Mali ML: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5 data is updated yearly, averaging 2.100 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.700 % in 2006 and a record low of 0.500 % in 1987. Mali ML: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mali – Table ML.World Bank: Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's new child growth standards released in 2006.; ; UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child malnutrition estimates (JME). Aggregation is based on UNICEF, WHO, and the World Bank harmonized dataset (adjusted, comparable data) and methodology.; Linear mixed-effect model estimates; Estimates of overweight children are also from national survey data. Once considered only a high-income economy problem, overweight children have become a growing concern in developing countries. Research shows an association between childhood obesity and a high prevalence of diabetes, respiratory disease, high blood pressure, and psychosocial and orthopedic disorders (de Onis and Blössner 2003). Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death, and disability in adulthood. In addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties and increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and psychological effects. Children in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to inadequate nutrition before birth and in infancy and early childhood. Many of these children are exposed to high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, calorie-dense, micronutrient-poor foods, which tend be lower in cost than more nutritious foods. These dietary patterns, in conjunction with low levels of physical activity, result in sharp increases in childhood obesity, while under-nutrition continues
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Panama PA: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5, Modeled Estimate data was reported at 10.900 % in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.100 % for 2023. Panama PA: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5, Modeled Estimate data is updated yearly, averaging 10.900 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.500 % in 2019 and a record low of 8.300 % in 2000. Panama PA: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5, Modeled Estimate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Panama – Table PA.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.;UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME).;Weighted average;Once considered only a high-income economy problem, overweight children have become a growing concern in developing countries. Research shows an association between childhood obesity and a high prevalence of diabetes, respiratory disease, high blood pressure, and psychosocial and orthopedic disorders (de Onis and Blössner 2003). Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death, and disability in adulthood. In addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties and increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and psychological effects. Children in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to inadequate nutrition before birth and in infancy and early childhood. Many of these children are exposed to high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, calorie-dense, micronutrient-poor foods, which tend be lower in cost than more nutritious foods. These dietary patterns, in conjunction with low levels of physical activity, result in sharp increases in childhood obesity, while under-nutrition continues. Estimates are modeled estimates produced by the JME. Primary data sources of the anthropometric measurements are national surveys. These surveys are administered sporadically, resulting in sparse data for many countries. Furthermore, the trend of the indicators over time is usually not a straight line and varies by country. Tracking the current level and progress of indicators helps determine if countries are on track to meet certain thresholds, such as those indicated in the SDGs. Thus the JME developed statistical models and produced the modeled estimates.
Trend data for the prevalence of:
The spreadsheets present 3 years of aggregated data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for these 4 different geographies separately:
Additional compressed zip file includes a text file with all of the data listed above in one file, accompanied by a metadata document. This file is specifically for those wishing to undertake further analysis of the data.
Obesity rates for each Census Tract in Allegheny County were produced for the study “Developing small-area predictions for smoking and obesity prevalence in the United States." The data is not explicitly based on population surveys or data collection conducted in Allegheny County, but rather estimated using statistical modeling techniques. In this technique, researchers applied the obesity rate of a demographically similar census tract to one in Allegheny County to compute an obesity rate.
Data on obesity among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years in the United States, by selected characteristics, including sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, and poverty level. Data are from Health, United States. SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Search, visualize, and download these and other estimates from over 120 health topics with the NCHS Data Query System (DQS), available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/dataquery/index.htm.
This dataset includes select data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) on the percent of adults who bike or walk to work. This data is used for DNPAO's Data, Trends, and Maps database, which provides national and state specific data on obesity, nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding. For more information about ACS visit https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/.
Obesity has become a major concern for health officials in the United States. Rates of obesity are higher than ever before and as a result, consequential medical conditions have arisen in those who suffer from obesity; while at the same time, medical expenses are skyrocketing for these same individuals. In this study, I analyze regional trends in the United States of both obesity rates and walkability in 74 cities in the United States. After analyzing the data and constructing visual representations, I found that the Northeast region of the US is most walkable, while the Southeast and Southwestern regions are the least walkable. In regards to obesity rates, I found that the West had the lowest obesity rates in both 2010 and 2013, while the Midwest and the Southeast had a high obesity rate in both 2010 and 2013. Additionally, the Northeastern US had a high obesity rate in 2013.
The prevalence of obesity in the United States has risen gradually over the past decade. As of 2023, around ** percent of the population aged 18 years and older was obese. Obesity is a growing problem in many parts of the world, but is particularly troubling in the United States. Obesity in the United States The states with the highest prevalence of obesity are West Virginia, Mississippi, and Arkansas. As of 2023, a shocking ** percent of the population in West Virginia were obese. The percentage of adults aged 65 years and older who are obese has grown in recent years, compounding health issues that develop with age. Health impacts of obesity Obesity is linked to several negative health impacts including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Unsurprisingly, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes has increased in the United States over the years. As of 2022, around *** percent of the population had been diagnosed with diabetes. Some of the most common types of cancers caused by obesity include breast cancer in postmenopausal women, colon and rectum cancer, and corpus and uterus cancer.