Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts

Here are some figures and facts about child obesity.

One in three youth do not engage in vigorous physical activity at all.
Less than 30% of children attend daily gym class.
Kids in obese families are more likely to be overweight or obese themselves.
Obesity is only rarely caused by an inherent physical condition within your child; most often, your child’s obesity could be attributed to bad habits. Your doctor could take tests to rule out any of these conditions or genetic syndromes.
Children under the age of two need larger amounts of fat in their diet than older children; however, children older than two should be weaned off of the amount of fat they were fed earlier in their toddler-hood.
15% of all children in the U.S. are overweight
Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled for children and more than tripled for teens.
The CDC says that approximately 112,000 deaths could be attributed to obesity every year in the U.S.
If your child is more than 20% higher than the average weight for a child in their age and height range, then they are very likely to become overweight.