Central Indiana children are struggling with obesity. The pandemic made it worse

The Indiana Youth Institute is highlighting the rise of obesity in central Indiana youth. 

The institute is putting the spotlight on data from the Indiana University School of Public Health that shows that obesity among children in central Indiana has increased by over six percentage points since 2014.

The report looked at children between 2 and 19 years of age and found that the greatest percentage increase in obesity was from 2020 to 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Tami Silverman is the CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute. She said that many children do not get the recommended 60 minutes of movement every day. 

“In Indiana right now, 23% of high schoolers meet that standard,” she said. “So you know, less than a quarter of our kids are moving enough.”

The rise in obesity was across every Central Indiana county, but Marion, Morgan, and Shelby saw the greatest percentage increases. The data also show location, age group, and gender can play a role in the obesity trends. 

For instance, children 2-5 years of age saw the largest jump in obesity between 2014 and 2023, with a nearly seven percentage point increase in overall obesity. 

Silverman said physical activity and access to healthy foods are key to improving obesity rates across the region. 

“Investing in safe recreational spaces so that kids can get out and move and making sure the kids also have access to preventative and other healthcare services,” she said. 

The initial report from IU School of Public Health was done at the behest of Jump IN For Healthy Kids, an Indiana organization 

Julie Burns is the CEO of Jump In. She said the increases in obesity are a result of 30 years of changing policies around processed foods and school recess. 

“By the time a child's in about eighth grade, if they are overweight or obese, more than likely, 80% of those kids will be overweight or obese adults,” Burns said. 

Burns said rates have come down somewhat in the past two years, but are still significantly higher than pre-pandemic. New data from 2024 will tell the group if things are continuing in the right direction.

That information is expected to be released within the next few weeks. 

Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.