KIDS COUNT Data Center

State Differences in Rates of Overweight or Obese Youth March 2006   Printer-friendly (PDF) version

Data Highlights | Background on Overweight or Obese Children | How Your State Ranks | What You Can Do | Sources | About the Data Snapshot Series

Data available in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Center indicates that the problem of obese and overweight youth is not an equal problem for all families in the United States. According to the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health, approximately ten million or 31 percent of U.S. children and youth ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese. This incidence varies across gender, race, income, and geography. Overall, KIDS COUNT data show that the eight states with the highest rates of overweight or obese youth also have high rates of childhood poverty and generally score low on measures of child well-being.

The map below shows the states ranked by the percent of 10- to 17-year-olds who are overweight or obese. These figures reflect the variation across the country. See definition of overweight or obese in the box at the end of this document.

Figure 1—Percent of 10- to 17-year-olds who are overweight or obese.

Source: KIDS COUNT analysis of the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Data Highlights

The following data were reported for 10- to 17-year-olds in the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health:

• Kentucky has the highest rate of overweight or obese children, with 38 percent of all children and youth falling into this category.
  
  
• Utah has the lowest rate of overweight or obese children, with 21 percent of all children and youth in this category.
  
  
• Males are more likely to be overweight or obese than females (35 percent compared to 26 percent respectively).
  
  
• African-American and Hispanic children and youth are more likely than white children to be overweight or obese (41 percent for African-American, non-Hispanic children; 38 percent for Hispanic children; and 27 percent for white, non-Hispanic children).

Figure 2—Percent of 10- to 17-year-olds who are overweight or obese, by race/ethnicity.

Source: KIDS COUNT analysis of the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health.

• Children in low-income households (incomes under 200 percent of the poverty level) are more likely than those living in higher-income households (over 200 percent of poverty) to be overweight or obese (38 percent versus 26 percent respectively). In 2003, 200 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four was $37,800.

Figure 3—Percent of 10- to 17-year-olds who are overweight and obese, by household income level.

Source: KIDS COUNT analysis of the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Background on Overweight or Obese Children

Since 1970, the prevalence of obesity among adolescents ages 12 to 19 in the United States has more than doubled; it has almost tripled for children ages 6 to 11. Children who are overweight are at heightened risk for poor health outcomes, including the following:

• High cholesterol and high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.
  
  
• Becoming overweight or obese adults, and therefore being at higher risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and several types of cancer.

Healthy eating and regular physical activity can lower the risk of becoming overweight and developing related diseases. Nationally, about half of all children ages 6 to 17 go without sufficient daily exercise.

How Your State Ranks

The table below shows the U.S. states ranked by the percent of 10- to 17-year-olds who are overweight or obese.

Figure 4—Percent of 10- to 17-year-olds who are overweight or obese.

Source: KIDS COUNT analysis of the 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health.

• Rates of Overweight or Obese Youth by Gender for Ages 10 – 17
  
  
• Rates of Children and Teens Not Exercising Regularly for Ages 6 – 17

Many of the state KIDS COUNT grantees have produced state reports focused on the issue of childhood obesity. Visit the KIDS COUNT issues library for more information.

What You Can Do

Many states are starting to address problems of childhood obesity though policies and programs in schools and in communities. These include physical education requirements and nutritional standards for food sold on school campuses. The following resources provide materials and education to prevent childhood obesity:

• Top 10 Key Strategies to Prevent Obesity
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has outlined a variety of strategies to help prevent children from becoming overweight and to keep overweight children from becoming obese adults.
  
  
• Policy Matters – School Health and Nutrition Policies by State
  The Policy Matters report, released by the Center for the Study of Social Policy in January 2006, assembles and presents research in a variety of areas important to a family opportunity and stability including a section on State School Health and Nutrition Policy.
  
  
• The Future of Children Journal Focusing on Childhood Obesity
  The next volume of The Future of Children, “Childhood Obesity” (Vol. 16, No.1) will be available in spring 2006.

Sources

Annie E. Casey Foundation’s analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health, 2003.

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, School of Public Health and Health Services, The George Washington University Medical Center, March 2005, “Childhood Overweight What the Research Tells Us,” (December, 2005)

U.S. Surgeon General, Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences, (December, 2005)

The Centers for Disease Control, Health Topics: Childhood Obesity, accessed at (December, 2005)

Definition of Overweight or Obese Children The state-level data used here come from the National Survey of Children’s Health. The National Survey of Children’s Health uses height and weight, as reported by the parent or most knowledgeable adult, to determine a child’s Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is used to determine if a child is overweight. The BMI thresholds are age- and gender-specific. For purposes of this report, children between the 85th and 95th percentile BMI-for-age are categorized as “overweight,” and children at or above the 95th percentile BMI-for-age are characterized as “obese.”

About the KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot Series:

The Data Snapshot series highlights specific indicators of child well-being contained in the KIDS COUNT Data Center.

KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort the track the status of children in the United States.

KIDS COUNT exemplifies the Foundation’s commitment to using the best available data to measure the well-being of children and to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.