The obesity rate among Black children and adolescents rose from 22.4% in 2011 to 35.8% in August 2023, according to a study published in Annals of Family Medicine, a bimonthly publication. 

Obesity prevalence in Black children and adolescents was 62.73% higher than the overall prevalence across all races and ethnicities combined. 

Childhood and adolescent obesity are disproportionately prevalent among minority racial and ethnic groups.

Of the participants in the study, 13.7% were Black, 14.8% were Mexican-American, 9.3% were other Hispanic, 50.7% were White, 5.5% were Asian, and 5.9% were another race or ethnicity. 

The growth of obesity among Black children is caused by several issues, including Covid-19.

Investigators conducted the study to address the massive disruption to health care access caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which they noted no study has covered before on a national scale. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused economic hardship, school closings, shutdowns, limited physical activities, and increased food insecurity for many families.

“Loss of space, safe spaces for physical activity with school closures, food insecurity that occurred with schools, for example, with children and youth losing access to school meals that tend to be more regulated in terms of nutrition and other health standards,” lead author Michael Liu, MD, a resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC).

Incidents like this are playing out across the country. 

This is apparent in South Memphis, Tennessee.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of the NAACP, sent a letter to xAI signaling their intent to sue over the company’s continued use of unpermitted gas turbines at its data center in South Memphis. Use of these turbines limits the outdoor spaces available for children to play.

Representative Justin Pearson answered sarcastically. “How are you going to work [or play] if you can’t breathe?”

Researchers observed 7507 participants—54.5% of whom were children aged 2 to 11 years and 45.6% of whom were adolescents aged 12 to 19 years—using cross-sectional data from 2011 to 2023 survey cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 

In the study, participants were stratified using the CDC’s predefined measurement of obesity and overweight, which is a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile, and severe obesity at or above the 120th percentile. 

“Black youth are less likely to have access to nutritious foods and grocery stores and are more likely to live in pharmacy deserts,” wrote corresponding author Rishi Wadhera, MD, MPP, section head of health policy research at the Smith Center, which is based in Boston, told American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC).