Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2015-2016

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hales, Craig M. ; Carroll, Margaret D. ; Fryar, Cheryl D. ; Ogden, Cynthia L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.)
• Description:
  Obesity is associated with serious health risks (1). Monitoring obesity prevalence is relevant for public health programs that focus on reducing or preventing obesity. Between 2003-2004 and 2013-2014, there were no significant changes in childhood obesity prevalence, but adults showed an increasing trend (2). This report provides the most recent national estimates from 2015-2016 on obesity prevalence by sex, age, and race and Hispanic origin, and overall estimates from 1999-2000 through 2015-2016.
  
  Obesity is associated with serious health risks (1). Monitoring obesity prevalence is relevant for public health programs that focus on reducing
  
  or preventing obesity. Between 2003-2004 and 2013-2014, there were no significant changes in childhood obesity prevalence, but adults showed an increasing trend (2). This report provides the most recent national estimates from 2015-2016 on obesity prevalence by sex, age, and race and Hispanic origin, and overall estimates from 1999-2000 through 2015-2016.
  
  Keyword: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
  
  What was the prevalence of obesity in adults in 2015-2016?
  
  The prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults was 39.8% (crude). Overall, the prevalence among adults aged 40-59 (42.8%) was higher than among adults aged 20-39 (35.7%). No significant difference in prevalence was seen between adults aged 60 and over (41.0%) and younger age groups (Figure 1).
  
  Figure 1. Prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 and over, by sex and age: United States, 2015-2016
  
  Key findings
  
  Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
  
  • In 2015-2016, the prevalence of obesity was 39.8% in adults and 18.5% in youth.
  
  • The prevalence of obesity was higher among middle-aged adults (42.8%) than among younger adults (35.7%).
  
  • The prevalence of obesity was higher among youth aged 6-11 years (18.4%)
  
  • and adolescents aged 12-19 years (20.6%) compared with children aged 2-5 years (13.9%).
  
  • The overall prevalence of obesity was higher among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic adults than among non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic Asian adults. The same pattern was seen among youth.
  
  • The observed change in prevalence between 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 was not significant among both adults and youth.
  
  Suggested citation: Hales CM, Carroll MD, Fryar CD, Ogden CL. Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2015-2016. NCHS data brief, no 288. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017.
  
  CS283424
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Age Distribution Child Child, Preschool Obesity/Epidemiology Obesity/ethnology Prevalence Sex Distribution Young Adult

  More +
• Keywords:
  obese adults, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
• Source:
  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
• Series:
  NCHS Data Briefs
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report ; Statistics
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• CIO:
  National Center for Health Statistics
• Topic:
  Health Statistics
• Pages in Document:
  8 pdf pages
• Issue:
  288
• Collection(s):
  National Center for Health Statistics
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:84adb533c8e90e6a8ff1c2305ff8161078395721da1469a5fcf9ce3a593a05b1bce8b5903032f18ce3693d7a82c057cdf02ec5785632f9db0ce75f58816e8625
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/49223/cdc_49223_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 588.88 KB ]