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Child & Teen Health
Obesity is a complex health issue that affects a staggering percentage of US children and teens. Hovering around 5% in 1963 to 1965, rates of obesity had more than tripled to 19% by 2017 to 2019. Early data suggest childhood obesity rates continued climbing during the pandemic. If these trends continue, 57% of children currently ages 2 to 19 will have obesity as adults in 2050.
In a nutshell, this puts more than half of children now alive in the US at greater risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and the other health complications of obesity. Stress, depression, and poor self-esteem are often linked to stigma surrounding obesity. For these reasons and more, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently updated clinical practice guidelines for evaluating and treating children and teens with obesity.
Obesity has long been stigmatized as simply a problem of personal choice: if people just ate less and exercised more, they would not be obese, experts once believed. But the medical evidence is far more complicated than that. Genetic, physiologic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors contribute to obesity in children.
The new guidelines recommend that your doctor should:
When a comprehensive program is not available, the new guidelines recommend that pediatricians:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests four actions families can take:
Claire McCarthy, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
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No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
Child & Teen Health
Child & Teen Health
Child & Teen Health
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