Percentage of U.S. children and adolescents who were obese 1988-2016

Between 2013 and 2016, obesity rates in U.S. children and adolescents stood at 17.9 and 20.6 percent, respectively. This is a noteworthy increase compared to the percentages seen between 1988 and 1994.

U.S. high school obesity rates

Roughly 18 percent of black, as well as Hispanic students in the United States, were obese between 2016 and 2017. Male obesity rates were noticeably higher than those of female students for each of the ethnicities during the measured period. For example, about 20 percent of male Hispanic high school students were obese, compared to 14 percent of female students. The American states with the highest number of obese high school students in 2017 included Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, respectively. Arkansas had a high school student obesity rate of just under 22 percent that year.

Physically inactive Americans

Adults from Kentucky and Arkansas were also reported to be some of the least physically active people in the United States in 2018. When surveyed, over 30 percent of adults from Kentucky and Arkansas had not exercised within the preceding 30 days. The national physical inactivity average stood at approximately 26 percent that year.