Prevalence of Pediatric Obesity in the United States
Most nurse practitioners (NP) are aware that the rates of pediatric obesity have been increasing over the last 20 years. The following chart has been accessed through the CDC website.
Table 1. Prevalence of obesity among U.S. children and adolescents aged 2-19, for selected years 1963-1965 through 2007-2008
| Age (in years)1 | NHANES 1963-1965 1966-19702 |
NHANES 1971-1974 |
NHANES 1976-1980 |
NHANES 1988-1994 |
NHANES 1999-2000 |
NHANES 2001-2002 |
NHANES 2003-2004 |
NHANES 2005-2006 |
NHANES 2007-2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | (3) | 5.0 | 5.5 | 10.0 | 13.9 | 15.4 | 17.1 | 15.5 | 16.9 |
| 2-5 | (3) | 5.0 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 13.9 | 11.0 | 10.4 |
| 6-11 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 6.5 | 11.3 | 15.1 | 16.3 | 18.8 | 15.1 | 19.6 |
| 12-19 | 4.6 | 6.1 | 5.0 | 10.5 | 14.8 | 16.7 | 17.4 | 17.8 | 18.1 |
Note that the rates of pediatric obesity have risen over the years in all age groups. It is also important to note that the CDC reports that black and hispanic children have significantly higher obesity rates than their non-Hispanic White counterparts (CDC, 2011).
So what children and their parents need counseling about prevention of pediatric obesity?
All children and their parents should receive counseling about prevention of pediatric obesity from their primary care providers. Although the rates are higher for some ethnicities, pediatric obesity is a problem that crosses all ages and races of children.
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Date last modified: December 7, 2011.
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