Overview
- Measured NHANES data from 2021–2023 show 21.1% of U.S. children and teens ages 2–19 have obesity, the highest level recorded.
- Severe pediatric obesity reached 7% in 2021–2023, up from about 1% five decades ago.
- Adult obesity was 40.3% in 2021–2023, slightly below the 42.4% peak in 2017–2018, with 9.7% classified as severe and 31.7% as overweight.
- Adolescents ages 12–19 had nearly 23% obesity prevalence, the highest among pediatric age groups.
- Public-health efforts and wider GLP-1 use are cited as possible factors in the adult shift, though NHANES estimates can vary by sample and GLP-1s are rarely used in youths.