5 Healthy Goals

In recent years, obesity rates for preschool-aged children have declined slightly but still remain much too high. Children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times more likely to become obese adults than normal weight children.

• Approximately 23 percent of children aged two to five years are overweight or obese.
• Obesity rates for young children doubled in about a 20 year period of time (1980s – 2000s).
• One out of eight low-income, preschool-aged children is obese.
• Some children are at higher risk for obesity: American Indian and Alaska Native (20.7%) and Hispanic (17.9%) children aged two to four years have the highest rates of obesity.

Read more about the prevalence of child obesity in the United States.

Children who are overweight or obese can be undernourished at the same time if the foods and beverages they consume are not very nutritious in terms of vitamins and minerals. Nutrition deficiencies impair brain development and cognitive functioning, including learning. Energy needed for optimal child growth and development is impacted by diet.

Obesity increases the likelihood of certain diseases and health problems, such as:

• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancer
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Hypertension
• High blood cholesterol
• Stroke
• Osteoarthritis
• Gynecological problems
• Liver and gallbladder disease

Obese children also face more social and psychological problems, such as discrimination and poor self-esteem, which can continue into adulthood.
Children who are not physically active, regardless of their weight status, have more behavioral and disciplinary problems, shorter attention spans in class and do not perform as well in school compared to active children.