INDIANAPOLIS — More than one in five children in central Indiana are obese. That's according to new research from the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health. The numbers are even higher in Marion County.
The ongoing research is funded by Jump IN for Healthy Kids, a community effort to empower children to live healthier lives. The report, titled “Weight Trends Among Children and Adolescents Within Central Indiana,” gathered data between 2014-2022 from more than 800,000 doctors' visits of more than 200,000 children ages 2 to 19 in eight counties: Boone, Hamilton, Hendricks, Marion, Hancock, Morgan, Johnson and Shelby counties.
The report shows childhood obesity increased in central Indiana by almost 36% over the nine-year period. About 21% — more than one in five children — are obese, slightly lower for girls and slightly higher for boys.
"This data is really important because we sort of speculated what the trends we're doing,” said Dr. Thomas Duszynski, assistant professor at the Fairbanks School. “We could observe things, but this data gave us the most accurate picture to date, over nine years in central Indiana, because we actually have the physical measurements of height and weight."
Jump IN promotes initiatives like the Apex Benefits Monumental Kids Movement. The running club program works in 60 Marion County schools to teach the benefits of exercise and a healthy diet. The six-to-eight week program leads up to a 5K run.
"The habit that they take away from this program is really just the continuation of what this means for them to lead a healthy life in the long run, continually making healthy choices” said Jed Cornforth, executive director of Beyond Monumental.
Third grade teacher Julie Busch is a sponsor for the running club at Indianapolis Public Schools 39, William McKinley Elementary. Eighty-five kids from the school participated in the Monumental Kids Movement last fall.
"Just making sure that these kids, our students, are exposed to physical fitness and healthy foods,” Busch said. “Being able to understand how moving your body is such a great thing, not just for your mental health but for your physical health."
Jump IN has secured funding to continue collecting and analyzing data to update this report through 2026.
"We really need to get to a lower weight level in general in our population, in order so that kids don't grow up and continue to get these chronic health conditions,” Jump IN CEO Julie Burns said. “Now, weight isn't the only thing that contributes, but it is a big contributor."
Childhood obesity is highest in Marion County, up 44% from 2014-2022. More than 23% of girls in Indianapolis are obese, more than 26% for boys.
"It is disheartening statistic,” said Dr. Laurie Goebel, who treats exclusively children with obesity at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. “But I think that it is something we are working hard to address in Marion County, and I think we are seeing some progress. I don't think we're fighting a losing battle, and I think one of the messages families need to hear is there is definitely hope. We do have effective treatments for the disease of obesity."
Lifestyle intervention and prevention are the first priorities, focusing on 60 minutes of physical activity a day, good diet and eating habits, even sleep and social environment are considered in treatment plans. Medication and even surgery can be options for children 12 and older in the most serious cases of obesity.
Food deserts, lack of healthy options, and safe places to live and play are problems for some Indianapolis kids. That's where their school plays such a big role.
“How much access do they have to physical activity during the school day? What kind of access do they have to healthy and nutritious food at breakfast and lunch? For a lot of our children who don’t have access to healthy food, the only access to things like fresh fruits and vegetables often happens at school,” Goebel said. “Or if they live in an area where they can’t engage in active play after school safely, school is sometimes the only place where sometimes they are engaging in physical activity at all.”
The study's authors hope the data will lead to more funding for programs that address obesity and provide healthier meals to the most at-risk children.
The research shows that childhood obesity jumped the most during the COVID-19 pandemic and did show a slight decrease in 2022. Advocates hope that trend continues. Hispanic and Asian children in central Indiana showed the highest increases in obesity over the nine years.