1 in 5 US teenagers – 22.2% of high school students – are now classified as obese, a trend that carries serious physical and mental health risks throughout adolescence.
Photo of the study: 1 in 5 US teenagers – 22.2% of high school students – are now classified as obese, a trend that carries serious physical and mental health risks throughout adolescence. To better understand these patterns, researchers at FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine analyzed data from 2013 to 2023 from more than 85,000 US students in grades nine through 12. Using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the most recent data available from the CDC, the team examined effort, weight, and weight as effort and weight. Race, ethnicity, gender and grade level.
The results of the study show that overall obesity has increased from 13.7% to 15.9%, reaching 16.3% in 2021. Black and Hispanic teens had consistently higher rates, with peaks of 21.2% and 20.2%, respectively, while Asian teens had nearly double their lowest rate of 6%. 11% At the same time, the proportion of students classified as overweight fell from 16.6% to 14.7%, driven mainly by a decline among males. Fewer youth reported trying to lose weight in 2023 (44.5%) than in 2013 (47.7%), with a significant decrease between 10th and 12th grade. Female adolescents, while more likely to lose weight than their male counterparts, also showed a decline in engagement, highlighting a troubling gap between increased obesity and reduced weight management efforts. These patterns differ between subgroups of race, gender, and grade level, and emphasize the urgent need for targeted clinical and public health interventions to help youth adopt healthy behaviors and maintain realistic body expectations.
Nearly 1 in 5 teenagers in the United States is obese, putting their long-term health at serious risk. Obesity in adolescence leads to many harmful medical conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and mental health struggles with low self-esteem and anxiety.
Understanding patterns of obesity and weight loss efforts among US youth is critical to developing effective clinical and public health interventions. However, data remains sparse on whether and how young adults attempt to lose weight.
To explore these issues, researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine analyzed obesity trends from 2013 to 2023 among 85,588 US high school students (grades 9 to 12) using the Adolescent Risk Behavior Survey, the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They examined patterns of overweight, obesity, and weight loss efforts, both overall and in subgroups of gender, grade level, race, and ethnicity. Overweight describes young people as above a healthy weight for their height, while obesity is more common. Adolescent overweight and obesity are associated with increased health risks in both the short and long term.
The results of the study, published in the Ochsner Journal, show an increase in obesity among young people in the last decade. Overall obesity among US high school students has increased from 13.7% in 2013 to 15.9% in 2023, reaching 16.3% in 2021. Black and Hispanic youth consistently had the highest rates, with increases of 21.2% and 20.2%, respectively, while their lowest rates nearly doubled from 5.6% to 11%. In contrast, the proportion of overweight students fell from 16.6% to 14.7%, largely due to a decline among male students.
Female students were more likely to lose weight than their male counterparts, but overall, fewer young people reported trying to lose weight in 2023 (44.5%) than in 2013 (47.7%). Efforts to lose weight dropped sharply between 10th and 12th grades, indicating a troubling gap in healthy behaviors as teens get older.
Male obesity rates rose steadily to 18.9% in 2019 before decreasing slightly to 18.2% in 2023, while female rates fluctuated with a low of 10.8% and a high of 13.7%. Among grades, 11th graders had the highest obesity rate in 2023 at 17.3%, followed by ninth graders, while ninth and 12th graders had the lowest rates of overweight.
“In the United States today, youth obesity rates are increasing while efforts to lose weight have steadily declined,” said Charles H. Hennicks, MD, Ph.D., FACPM, co-author and first professor of medicine and preventive medicine and senior academic advisor at FAU’s College. “These findings highlight clinical and public health challenges and highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions.”
Taken together, the data paint a picture of a generation where overweight is becoming more common, even as motivation to manage weight — especially among female teens — is declining. While female teens still report trying to lose weight at a higher rate than their male counterparts, those efforts have decreased compared to previous years. This decline is significant because adolescent girls often experience greater body dissatisfaction and a desire to be thin, pressures likely to be amplified by social comparisons on platforms such as social media.
“While further research is needed, these data have implications for clinicians and public health professionals,” Heinekens said. “These patterns highlight the need for clinical and public health strategies to address these challenges in US youth to prevent future morbidity and mortality.”
Researchers emphasize school programs that promote nutrition knowledge, body image and mental health to help young people develop sustainable healthy habits. Public health policy should also address motivation, with initiatives such as the CDC’s statewide Physical Activity and Nutrition Program to address high obesity rates in men and weight loss efforts in women.
Co-authors of the study are Jack Yang, first author; Emily Creel and Sheila Lawrence, FAU School of Medicine students; Alan Kunz-Lomelin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor in the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work in FAU’s College of Social Work and Criminal Justice; and Panagiota Kitsantas, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at George Mason University, and former professor and dean of population health at FAU’s College of Medicine.
-FAU-
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