17% of US children aged 2-19 are obese
Approximately 17% of US children aged 2-19 are obese*, according to the CDC. However, on the plus side, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 2 to 5 years decreased significantly from 13.9% in 2003-2004 to 8.4% in 2011-2012.
In 2011-2012, obesity prevalence among children was higher among Hispanics (22.4%) and non-Hispanic blacks (20.2%) than among non-Hispanic whites (14.1%).
Prevalence was lower in non-Hispanic Asian children (8.6%) than in children who were non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black or Hispanic.
*Defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific CDC BMI-for-age growth charts.