Rates of obesity have increased dramatically in recent decades for Americans of all ages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the past 40 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled among teens. The percent of adolescents aged 12 to 19 who were obese increased from 5 percent in 1980 to nearly 19 percent in 2018. Overall, nearly one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese.