‘Extremely Severe’ Obesity on the Rise in US Children—Study

Extremely severe obesity among American children has increased more than threefold over the past 15 years, with new research published on the JAMA Network, highlighting disturbing trends in prevalence and related health complications.

Researchers analyzed national health data from 2008 to 2023, uncovering a surge in the most severe obesity categories for U.S. children aged 2 to 18 years old.

Newsweek has reached out to the authors of the study via email Sunday during non-working hours for further comment.

Why It Matters

The study comes as the nation faces persistent challenges combating childhood obesity, signaling what authors have called a “public health emergency” with wide-ranging medical and economic consequences for future generations.

“The findings underscore the urgent need for public health interventions against pediatric obesity in the U.S.,” authors Eliane Munte, Xinlian Zhang, Amit Khurana, and Phillipp Hartmann wrote in the study.

The sharp upswing in extremely severe obesity among children raises the risk of developing serious medical conditions—including type 2 diabetes, steatotic liver disease, also known as fatty liver disease (MASLD), metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 2024, approximately 1 in 5 children—14.7 million—are already classified as obese, with the burden disproportionately affecting racial minorities and lower-income families.

Untreated, these complications can persist into adulthood, multiplying risks for chronic disease and shortened life expectancy.

What To Know

The study evaluated data from 25,847 children and teens, drawing from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2008 and 2023.

Obesity was categorized using percentiles based on age and sex, and researchers identified a 253 percent relative increase in extremely severe obesity.

Adolescents aged 16 to 18 and non-Hispanic Black children were especially affected.

According to the CDC, the prevalence of obesity in U.S. children and teens aged 2-19 years increased from 19.46 percent in 2008 to 22.52 percent in 2023. Several factors have fueled the rise in pediatric obesity, including decreased physical activity, increased screen time, and greater access to high-calorie, low-nutrient foods.

Researchers noted that these issues intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, with children experiencing a nearly doubled rate of annual weight gain between 2019 and 2021 compared to prior years.

“The monthly rate of BMI increase nearly doubled…five times faster after the virus appeared,” Dr. Alyson Goodman of the CDC said in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in 2021, highlighting the influence of pandemic-era disruptions.

Economic and social disparities also contribute significantly to who is most affected. The CDC reported higher obesity rates among children in families below 130 percent of the federal poverty level around 25 percent, compared with those in wealthier households at 11.5 percent.

Unequal access to healthy foods, safe recreational spaces, and adequate medical care also play roles, the CDC said in 2024.

The JAMA study found significantly higher odds of children developing MASLD (a fatty liver disease), diabetes or prediabetes, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and early signs of heart disease.

Left unchecked, these conditions can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and major cardiovascular events later in life. In 2024, the CDC estimated the annual medical cost of childhood obesity at $1.3 billion, underscoring the seriousness of the crisis.

What People Are Saying

The authors of the study wrote in the conclusion: “The findings of this study with over 25,800 participants provide robust evidence supporting extremely severe obesity specifically as a public health emergency. The association with metabolic and cardiovascular complications necessitates urgent public health action, such as early prevention, targeted education, and the mobilization of resources.”

What Happens Next?

The authors called for “urgent public health interventions” and proposed a multi-layered approach, including preventive education, improved access to nutritious foods, and equitable health care.