Children and teens told by doctors that they were overweight--United States, 1999-2002

Abstract

The percentage of children and teens aged 6-19 years in the United States who are overweight nearly tripled to 16% during 1980-2002. Overweight and obese children and teens are at greater risk for many comorbid conditions, both immediate and long-term. Their risk is approximately 10 times greater than that of normal weight children for hypertension in young adulthood, three to eight times greater for dyslipidemias, and more than twice as great for diabetes mellitus. To determine what percentage of overweight children (or their parents) and teens were ever told their weight status by doctors or other health-care professionals, CDC analyzed data from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which determined that 36.7% of overweight children and teens aged 2-19 years had been told by a doctor or other health-care professional that they were overweight, and teens aged 16-19 years were more likely to be told than parents of children aged 2-11 years. By discussing weight status with overweight patients and their parents, pediatric health-care providers might help these patients implement lifelong improvements in diet and physical activity.