Despite previous reports that obesity in children and adolescents has remained stable or decreased in recent years, researchers found no evidence of a decline in obesity prevalence at any age in a recent study. In contrast, they reported a significant increase in severe obesity among children aged 2 to 5 years since the 2013–2014 cycle, a trend that continued upward for many subgroups. They used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for years 1999 to 2016. Weight status was determined by using measured height and weight from the physical examination component of the NHANES to calculate age- and sex-specific BMI. They found:

• White and Asian American children have significantly lower rates of obesity than African American children, Hispanic children, or children of other races.
• There’s a positive linear trend for all definitions of overweight and obesity among children 2 to 19 years old, most prominently among adolescents.
• Children aged 2 to 5 years showed a sharp increase in obesity prevalence from 2015 to 2016 compared with the previous cycle.