One Million More U.S. Kids Became Obese During COVID Pandemic

Key Takeaways

About 1 million American kids became obese during the pandemic

Childhood obesity rates rose from 21% to nearly 23%

Minority youth, disadvantaged kids and those already overweight or obese were more likely to gain weight

MONDAY, Dec. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Roughly 1 million American kids became obese during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says.

Childhood obesity rates in the U.S. rose from around 21% pre-pandemic to nearly 23% during the global health crisis, researchers reported Dec. 2 in the journal Pediatrics .

That totals up to about 1 million more children with obesity in the wake of the pandemic, researchers said.

“This was a substantial increase for pediatric obesity rates given the short time period,” lead researcher Sarah Messiah , a professor of