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Facts on Childhood Obesity
Obesity is extremely costly in terms of long-term physical and mental
health consequences for children and families and economic costs to society. A
look at the facts:
- The prevalence of obesity has quadrupled over the past 4 decades. National data show that one-third of all U.S. children are considered overweight or obese, and this number continues to rise.
- Ethnic minority children are more likely to be overweight than Caucasian children, and importantly, this disparity is seen as early as age 6.
- In New York State, 33% of low-income children, ages 2 to 5 years, are overweight or obese. In New York City, 44% of low-income children attending Head Start programs are overweight or obese.
- Overweight preschoolers have a 30% chance of becoming obese adults. For overweight adolescents, this likelihood increases to 80%.
- Regardless of income or ethnicity, childhood overweight increases the risk of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, orthopedic problems, sleep apnea, and cancers in adulthood.
- Childhood overweight also increases the risk of social and psychological problems as well as nutritional deficiencies associated with poor learning, cognition, school performance, and behavior problems.
- The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the total economic cost of obesity in the United States was $117 billion in 2000. This includes $61 billion in direct costs of diagnostic, preventive, and treatment services as well as $56 billion in indirect costs related to morbidity and mortality (e.g., value of income lost due to absenteeism, decreased productivity, and premature death). Half of these costs are paid by Medicaid and Medicare.
- A recent study showed that from 1979–1999, annual hospital costs for obesity-related conditions in youth increased from $35 million to $127 million (Economic Burden of Obesity in Youths Aged 6 – 17 Years: 1979-1999, Wang and Dietz, 2002).
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