Louisiana ranks 46th in youth obesity with 35.6% of children in the state between the of ages 10 and 17 who have obesity or are overweight for their age based on reported height and weight, according to 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s.
Just under one third of children ages 10 to 17 nationwide have obesity or are overweight, with a national average of 31.1%.
Louisiana is followed in the rankings by Texas (36.7%), Arkansas (37.9%), West Virginia (41.7%) and Mississippi (42.0%).
New Hampshire tops the ranking with 21.6% of children with obesity or are overweight followed by Idaho (24.3%), South Dakota (24.4%), Vermont (24.8%) and Utah (25.0%).
Childhood obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) value at or above the 95th percentile based on age and sex, while overweight is defined as a BMI value at or above the 85th percentile, but below the 95th percentile.
The American Medical Association adopted a new policy in 2023 addressing the shortcomings of BMI as a clinical measure of health, suggesting that it be used in conjunction with other measures, such as body composition.
According to the World Health Organization, the two most important means of preventing childhood obesity are healthy eating and regular physical activity.