Consumer Information

View Some Obesity Statistics

According to a Study Released Recently by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Nearly 40 million American adults are obese;
• The national obesity average has increased to 19.8% in 2000, up from 12% in 1991;
• Obesity-related diseases -- "implicated" in 300,000 deaths annually -- represent the second-leading cause of premature death in the U.S., behind smoking;
• The increase in obesity among Americans has contributed to a "parallel rise" in diabetes, with 15 million adult-onset cases diagnosed last year, compared with nine million in 1991; and
• CDC found that the "twin epidemics" of diabetes and obesity threaten to overwhelm the health care system.
• In 2000, the states with the highest percentage of obese individuals were Mississippi (24.3%), Alabama (23.5%) and West Virginia (22.8%)

For more information logon to:

Prevalence of Obesity Among U.S. Adults, by Characteristics Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (1991-2000); Self-Reported Data

Prevalence of Obesity Among U.S. Adults, Region and State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (1991-2000); Self-Reported Data

Drs. Roland Sturm and Kenneth Wells of RAND, a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis, studied the comparative effects of obesity, heavy drinking, and poverty on chronic health conditions and health expenditures. They discovered the following:

• Obesity is linked to very high rates of chronic illnesses (in terms of chronic conditions, being obese is like aging from 30 to 50).
• Obese Individuals spend more on health care (more is spent on services and medication than daily smokers and heavy drinkers).
• Obesity has become an epidemic (approximately 23 percent of Americans are obese).

The following statistics are from The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a branch of the National Institutes of Health:

• Total number of overweight adults (20-74 years old): Approximately 58 million Americans, or about one-third
• Overweight adult females (20-74 years old): 32 million, as of 1990
• Overweight adult males (20-74 years old): 26 million, as of 1990
• Percentage of adult American women trying to lose weight at any given time: 35-40 percent
• Percentage of adult American men trying to lose weight at any given time: 20-24 percent
• Percentage of cardiovascular disease cases related to obesity: Nearly 70 percent
• Effect of obesity on high blood pressure: More than doubles one's chances of developing high blood pressure

According to The National Women's Health Resource Center:

• While Americans' fat consumption has decreased over the past several decades from 40 percent to 34 percent, their rate of obesity has risen from 12 percent in 1991 to as much as 33 percent today.
• Another contributing factor to obesity: 60 percent of Americans don't meet basic activity level recommendations, and 25 percent are completely sedentary.
• Obesity results in $100 billion in healthcare costs each year in the United States.
• One measure of obesity is your body mass index (BMI), which can be determined by dividing your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and then multiplying by 705. For example, a woman who is 5'6" and weighs 190 would have a BMI of 31, as follows:

  5'6" = 66 inches 66 squared = 4356
  190 divided by 4356 = 0.0436
  0.0436 x 705 = 30.75 (rounded up to 31)

• If a woman's BMI is 30 or greater, she is considered obese. Forty or more puts her in the severely obese category. However, if she has more muscle mass than normal, these numbers won't apply, and her healthcare professional should measure her body composition to determine her degree of overweight.
• If a woman's waist circumference is more than 35 inches, she is considered to have a high amount of visceral fat, which is the type of fat that surrounds the internal organs. This type of fat is associated with higher risk of certain diseases and conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
• If you eat 250 calories per day fewer than needed to maintain your weight, and exercise enough to burn an additional 250 calories a day, you will lose about a pound per week.
• Your basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body needs just to maintain its basic functions, is determined by multiplying your current weight by 10. You need additional calories to provide energy for daily activities; the more active you are, the more calories you need.
  

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