On kidsdata.org, indicators of weight include:

• Percentage of public school students in grades 5, 7, and 9 who are overweight or obese per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition, by county and grade (State-level only).
• Percentage of public school students in grades 5, 7, and 9 who are underweight or at a healthy weight per the State Department of Education definition, by grade, gender and grade, and race/ethnicity and grade (County- and school district-level).

According to the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, an estimated 17% of children ages 2-19 are obese (defined as having a Body Mass Index, BMI, at or above the 95th percentile for age and gender per the 2000 CDC growth charts). This rate has nearly tripled over the past three decades (1). Obese children are at risk for a range of social and physical health problems including low self-esteem, discrimination from others, joint problems, sleep apnea, and asthma (2). Obese children, along with overweight children (defined as having a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile), are more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease; in addition, they are likely to stay overweight or obese as adults, placing them at increased risk for serious chronic diseases (3). Obesity’s impact also extends beyond the individual; studies estimate that U.S. medical care costs related to obesity may have totaled more than $140 billion in 2008, and costs are projected to rise to $344 billion by 2018 if current trends continue (4, 5).

Research indicates that many factors may contribute to the growth in childhood obesity. For example, the rise in obesity is attributed to increased consumption of non-nutritious "junk" food and large portions; less time for families to prepare meals at home; soda consumption; less physical education at school; increase in sedentary activities, such as TV and computer use; exposure to advertisements for food; community development patterns that encourage driving and discourage walking; and decreasing safe spaces for children to play outdoors (6). Research also has shown significant racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in obesity prevalence among U.S. children and adolescents (7, 8).

Find more information and research about weight in the Research & Links section.

Sources for this narrative:

1. Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Data and statistics: Obesity rates among all children in the United States. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/data.html.
2. Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Basics about childhood obesity. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html. 
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Nutrition, physical activity, and obesity. Retrieved from: http://healthypeople.gov/2020/LHI/nutrition.aspx.
4. Finkelstein, E. A., Trogdon, J. G., Cohen, J. W., Dietz, W. (2009). Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer-and service-specific estimates. Health Affairs, 28(5), 822-831.
5. Thorpe, K. (2009). The Future Costs of Obesity: National and State Estimates of the Impact of Obesity on Direct Health Care Expenses. United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. http://www.fightchronicdisease.org/sites/default/files/docs/CostofObesityReport-FINAL.pdf
6. Anderson, P. M., & Butcher, K. F. (2006). Childhood obesity: Trends and potential causes. The Future of Children, 16(1), 19-45. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/16_01_02.pdf
7. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2010). Youth risk behavior surveillance – United States, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summaries, 59(SS-5). Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf. 
8. Trust for America’s Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2008). F as in Fat: How obesity policies are failing in America. Retrieved from: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2008/Obesity2008Report.pdf

California has been a leader in advancing policies to combat childhood overweight and obesity, from banning soft drinks and unhealthful food in schools to requiring nutrition labeling in chain restaurants (1). Yet the state, along with other states, continues to battle an overweight/obesity epidemic among children. While the rise in obesity may be leveling off overall, significant disparities persist by race/ethnicity and income. Obesity rates are greater for low-income youth compared to more affluent youth—particularly among boys—and for African Americans and Latinos as compared to Caucasians and Asians (2). Reducing childhood obesity and improving fitness requires equitable access to safe places to play, affordable healthful foods and beverages, and less access to high-calorie foods and sugar-sweetened drinks (3, 4). Public policy can make a difference by changing the environment in which children make food choices, live, and play.

According to research and subject experts, policy options that could influence children’s weight and fitness include:

• Continuing to enforce and extend legislation that restricts sales of unhealthful food and drinks in schools; increases the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables and water in schools; and improves the nutritional quality of other foods and drinks sold at school (1, 3, 4)
• Funding and facilitating physical education at school (3, 4)
• Supporting and planning for a built environment in schools and communities that encourages walking, bicycling, and outdoor play (3, 4)
• Targeting anti-obesity efforts in a way that addresses racial/ethnic and income disparities, including increasing access to affordable healthful food (2)
• Promoting greater school and student participation in the School Breakfast Program, as eating a healthful breakfast can help regulate food consumption throughout the day, increase intake of micronutrients, and decrease obesity (5)
• Supporting public education efforts to promote healthful eating and active living (3)

For more policy ideas about promoting healthy weight and fitness among children, see the Research & Links section on this page or California Project LEAN, Action for Healthy Kids, and the ENACT Local Policy Database. Also see Policy Implications on kidsdata.org under Free/Reduced Price School Meals and Nutrition/Breakfast.

Sources for this narrative:

1. California Center for Public Health Advocacy. (n.d.). Legislative successes. Retrieved from: http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/legsuccess.html
2. Babey, et al. (2010). Income disparities in obesity trends among California adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 100(11), 2149-2155. Retrieved from: http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/Publications_Stories/4146_income_disparities_obesity_trends.pdf
3. California Department of Public Health, California Obesity Prevention Program. (2010). 2010 California obesity prevention plan: A vision for tomorrow, strategic actions for today. Retrieved from: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/COPP/Documents/COPP-ObesityPreventionPlan-2010.pdf.pdf
4. Ebbeling, et al. (2002). Childhood obesity: Public health crisis, common sense cure. The Lancet, 360, 473-482. Retrieved from: http://www.commercialalert.org/childhoodobesity.pdf
5. California Food Policy Advocates. (2010). The benefits of breakfast: Health & academics. Retrieved from: http://www.breakfastfirst.org/pdfs/HealthAndAcademicBenefits.pdf

The percentage of California 5th, 7th, and 9th graders who are overweight or obese (according to the CDC's definition) held steady from 2005 to 2010, hovering around 38%. At the state level, the percentage of 5th graders who are overweight/obese is consistently higher than the percentages for 7th and 9th graders.

The percentages of California 5th, 7th, and 9th graders who are underweight or at a healthy weight (according to the State Department of Education definition) also held fairly steady over the last decade. These data are available for counties and school districts and they, too, show wide variation at a local level. In general, a higher percentage of 5th and 7th grade girls are at or below a healthy weight than boys in those grades in California. Pacific Islander, Native American/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino and African American/Black groups have the lowest percentages of students at or below a healthy weight, whereas Asian American, Caucasian, and Filipino students have the highest.

• Action for Healthy Kids
• California Center for Public Health Advocacy
• California Project LEAN, California Department of Public Health & Public Health Institute
• Diabetes in Children and Adolescents Knowledge Path, Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University
• Let’s Move!
• National Collaborative on Child Obesity Research
• Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Overweight and Obesity, American Academy of Pediatrics
• Overweight in Children and Adolescents Knowledge Path, Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity
• The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments, Prevention Institute

• A Patchwork of Progress: Changes in Overweight and Obesity Among California 5th, 7th, and 9th Graders, 2005-2010, 11/2011, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and California Center for Public Health Advocacy, Babey et al.
• Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America, 04/2009, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Commission to Build a Healthier America
• Breakfast Eating and Weight Change in a 5-Year Prospective Analysis of Adolescents: Project EAT, 02/29/2008, Pediatrics, Timlin et al.
• Childhood Obesity: Trends and Potential Causes, 04/2006, The Future of Children, Anderson & Butcher
• Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes, 04/2008, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Babey et al.
• Food Insecurity Affects School Children’s Academic Performance, Weight Gain, and Social Skills, 12/2005, American Society for Nutrition, Jyoti, Frongillo & Jones
• Healthy Food, Healthy Communities: Improving Access and Opportunities through Food Retailing, 2005, Policy Link, Flournoy & Treuhaft
• Income Disparities in Obesity Trends Among California Adolescents, 11/2010, American Journal of Public Health: Environmental Approaches to Obesity Prevention, Babey et al.
• Interventions for Treating Obesity in Children (Review), 2009, Cochrane Collaborative, Luttikhuis et al.
• Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity from Ages 9 to 15 Years, 07/16/2008, Journal of the American Medical Association, Nader et al.
• Obesity and American Indians/Alaska Natives, 04/2007, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Halpern
• One Out of Three Latino Adolescents Overweight or At Risk, UCLA Healthy Policy Fact Sheet, 04/2005, UCLA, Rodriguez et al.
• Prevalence of Obesity Among Children with Chronic Conditions, 2010, Obesity, Chen et al.
• Prevalence of Obesity Among US Preschool Children in Different Racial and Ethnic Groups, 2009, Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Anderson & Whitaker
• Psychological and Behavioral Risk Factors for Obesity Onset in Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study, 2005, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Stice et al.
• The Real Cost of a Healthy Diet: Healthful Foods Are Out of Reach for Low-Income Families, 08/2005, A Community-Based Food Security Project at Boston Medical Center
• The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity, 02/24/2004, Kaiser Family Foundation
• Who Are America’s Poor Children? Examining Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity, 07/2011, National Center for Children in Poverty

• 2011 Community Assessment: Health and Quality of Life in San Mateo County, 2011, The Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County
• Asians and Pacific Islanders and the Growing Childhood Obesity Epidemic (Los Angeles County), 04/2010, Ethnicity and Disease, Shabbir et al., Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Epidemiology Unit
• Blueprint for Prevention of Childhood Obesity: A Call to Action, 04/2006, Healthy Communities San Mateo County
• San Diego County Report Card on Children & Families, 2011, The Children's Initiative and Johnson Group Consulting, Inc.
• Santa Barbara County Children's Scorecard, 2010, Santa Barbara County KIDS Network
• Santa Clara County Children’s Agenda: Indicators of Child Health and Well-Being (Data Book), 2012, Kids in Common
• The 17th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2011, Orange County Children's Partnership (OCCP), Center for Community Collaboration, California State University, Fullerton, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Children and Families Commission of Orange County
• Tulare County Children’s Report Card 2010, 2011, Children's Services Network

add your report to kidsdata.org

Do you have a local or regional report relevant to a topic on kidsdata.org? If you’d like to add it to our research and links section, please send it to us at kidsdata@lpfch.org.