A recent study that looked at the weights and heights of more than 710,000 children aged 2 to 19 found that 7% of boys and 5% of girls — and as many as 12% of children in some ethnic groups — were “extremely obese”. Overweight is defined as the 85th or higher percentile on the growth charts, according to guidelines from the CDC. Obese is defined as the 95th percentile or higher. Extreme obesity is defined as 120% of the 95th percentile for weight for age and sex.
Thus, for example, a normal 10 year old weighs approximately 70 lb. An “extremely obese” 10 year old could be upwards of 140 lb.
37.1% of the children studied were overweight; 19.4% were obese; 6.4% were extremely obese.