Summary

Severe obesity (body mass ≥120% of the 95th percentile adjusted for age and sex or an index >35 [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]) is the fastest-growing obesity subcategory in the US pediatric population.1 The severe obesity rate in this population rose from 5.6% in 2015 to 6.5% in 2018, an increase of approximately 4.8 million youths, with the largest increase among Hispanic youth (4.1% in 1999-2000 to 10.7% in 2017-2018), followed by non-Hispanic Black (hereafter Black) youth (from 6.7% to 10.2%, respectively) and non-Hispanic White (hereafter White) youth (from 2.6% to 4%, respectively).2 Pediatric obesity is associated with cardiometabolic comorbidities, liver and kidney disease, and lower quality of life, and these associations continue into adulthood.