Share of children who are overweight or obese in United States
United States: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 9.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children who are overweight or obese in United States, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children who are overweight or obese in United States stood at 9.7%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.2% on the previous year and up 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in United States peaked at 9.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.7%, in 2000.
United States ranks 39th of 163 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.7% | — |
| 2001 | 7.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7.8% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 7.9% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 7.9% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 8.0% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 8.0% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 8.1% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 8.1% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 8.2% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 8.2% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 8.3% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 8.3% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 8.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8.5% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 8.6% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 8.8% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 8.9% | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 9.1% | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 9.2% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | 9.4% | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 9.7% | +3.2% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 9.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.6%, 1.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.9% | 7.7% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.4% | 8.1% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.3% | 8.9% | 9.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More reference data data for United States
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 19.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 24.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 20.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 119.42 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 64.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 52.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 133.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 589.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 112.69 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in United States?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in United States was 9.7% in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 9.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.7% in 2000.
- How does United States rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- United States ranks 39th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children under five years old that are defined as overweight or obese. A child is classified as overweight if their weight-for-height is more than two standard deviations from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards.