Five Percent of Children and Teens of US are 'Severely Obese'

The obesity epidemic is on the rise in the U.S. According to a latest statement by the American Heart Association, about 5 percent of all American children and teens are now classified "severely obese".

Nearly 17 percent of all children in the U.S. or 12.5 million children and teens in the country are affected by obesity, according to data from CDC. The latest statement shows that many children are developing dangerous levels of obesity.

"Severe obesity in young people has grave health consequences. It's a much more serious childhood disease than obesity," said Aaron Kelly, Ph.D., lead author of the statement and a researcher at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

The rate of severe obesity among children is increasing, Kelly said in a news release. The current statement defines a "severely obese" child as a kid who is over two years old with a BMI of 35 or above or if he/she has a BMI that's 20 percent higher than the 95^th percentile for their gender and age.

Severe childhood obesity increases risk of diabetes type-2 and hypertension. Obesity is also related with increased risk of high blood cholesterol levels and early signs of atherosclerosis or clogging of the arteries.

Researchers said that many intervention programs aimed to address overweight and obesity in children such as lifestyle changes don't work for severely obese children and teens, Livescience reported.