The Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health at IU Indianapolis has released updated findings on childhood obesity trends through 2024. The new report shows that while the sharp pandemic-era increase in obesity rates has stabilized, overall prevalence remains significantly higher than before COVID-19.
Thomas Duszynski is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Fairbanks School. Photo courtesy of the Fairbanks School
“Adding another year of data strengthens our ability to monitor trends and reinforces the urgency of addressing childhood obesity,” said Thomas Duszynski, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Fairbanks School. “The patterns we see, from young children experiencing the largest increases to shifts across weight categories, highlight the complexity of reversing the gains made during the pandemic.”
Key findings include:
Childhood obesity had a steep rise in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, with overall prevalence in central Indiana increasing by 38.5% from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2024. In 2024, the overall rate of obesity was 21.6%.
Children ages 2 to 5 experienced the largest overall increases in obesity prevalence. From 2014 to 2024, obesity rates in this age group rose by 81%, far outpacing increases seen in older children.
Boone and Hamilton counties had the lowest overall obesity prevalence in 2024, at 12.8% and 14.1% respectively, but experienced some of the largest percentage increases since 2014.
Marion County, which has a larger population and a wider range of community conditions, continues to show one of the highest overall rates of childhood obesity prevalence at 25.1%. Shelby County had a rate of 25.2%, a 39.4% increase from 2014. These differences reflect variations in access to care, neighborhood resources and daily living environments.
Jump IN for Healthy Kids, which funded the study, works with several partners to lead system‑level improvements in early childhood education, healthy schools, and access to healthy food throughout Indianapolis and central Indiana.
“Jump IN has worked for years to make this kind of ongoing data collection possible,” said Julie Burns, CEO of Jump IN for Healthy Kids. “With consistent, high-quality data, we can better tailor interventions, understand which children are most at risk, and design programs that respond to the different environments where kids live, learn and play.”
The findings are based on data from Indiana’s Health Information Exchange, which aggregates measured height and weight data from major health systems including IU Health, Eskenazi Health, Ascension St. Vincent and Community Health Network.
The analysis draws on more than 1.6 million patient encounters from 602,209 unique individuals across central Indiana, including Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks, Marion, Hancock, Morgan, Johnson and Shelby counties. The study now spans over a full decade, from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 31, 2024.
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