AHA: Severe Obesity in US Youth Is Increasing and Difficult to Treat

Abstract

Although US childhood obesity rates overall have been flat over the past several years, the prevalence of severe obesity has increased. An estimated 4% to 6% of all US youths are severely obese, and there�s evidence that they have a �much more adverse cardiometabolic risk profile� than their overweight and obese counterparts, according to an American Heart Association scientific statement. The statement defines children older than 2 years as severely obese if they have a body mass index (BMI) that is at least 20% higher than the 95th percentile for their sex and age or a BMI of 35 or higher. Severely obese children have higher rates of type 2 diabetes than children with lower BMIs, and they also demonstrate early signs of vascular dysfunction and subclinical atherosclerosis (Kelly AS et al. Circulation. doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e3182a5cfb3 [published online September 9, 2013]).