THURSDAY July 17,2008–Despite the health and fitness world’s attempts to encourage Americans to lose weight, obesity has increased almost 2 percent between 2005 and 2007 amongh U.S. adults.
25.6 percent of adults were reported being obese in 2007, compared to 23.9 percent in 2005, according to the July issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in the United States, indicating that we need to step up our efforts at the national, state and local levels,” said Dr. William Dietz, Director of CDC’s division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. “We need to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, engage in more physical activity and reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in order to maintain a healthy weight.”
The percentage of adults who are obese varies from demographic to demographic. In terms of age, those 50-59 years old, 30.2 percent of women and 31.7 percent of men were obese. Those 19 to 29, 19.1 percent of men and women struggled with obesity.
The differences by sex and race/ethnicity, obesity prevalence was highest for non-Hispanic black women (39 percent) and men (32 percent).
Interestingly enough, education also played a role too. For men who had graduated college saw the lowest levels of obesity at 22 percent and highest among those who only graduated high school at 29 percent. For women, obesity prevalence was also lowest among college graduates (17 percent) and highest among those with less than a high school diploma (32 percent).
The “Healthy People 2010″ goal to reduce the prevalence of obesity to 15 percent or less has not been met by any of the states or the District of Columbia according to the CDC.
“Obesity is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. These diseases can be very costly for states and the country as a whole,” said Deb Galuska, associate director at the DCD’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.
The CDC uses the body mass index of 30 or above (BMI, a math-based ratio of weight to height) to determine obesity. For example, an adult who is 5-feet, 9-inches tall is considered obese if he or she weighs 203 pounds. Although the BMI can be accurate, one must consider body composition to be the main measurement of obesity.
“These data from the CDC confirm that the epidemic of obesity continues to spread, whether looking at population trends in the short or long-term,” stated Howard D. Sesso, a professor of medicie at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Although American’s seem to be putting forth greater effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the potential of meeting the “Health People 2010″ goal for obesity doesn’t seem all that likely, Sesso said. “This report highlights the need not only to outright prevent the development of obesity over the life-course, but also to improve efforts to reduce body weight in those already classified as obese,” he said.
25.6 percent of adults were reported being obese in 2007, compared to 23.9 percent in 2005, according to the July issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in the United States, indicating that we need to step up our efforts at the national, state and local levels,” said Dr. William Dietz, Director of CDC’s division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. “We need to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, engage in more physical activity and reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in order to maintain a healthy weight.”
The percentage of adults who are obese varies from demographic to demographic. In terms of age, those 50-59 years old, 30.2 percent of women and 31.7 percent of men were obese. Those 19 to 29, 19.1 percent of men and women struggled with obesity.
The differences by sex and race/ethnicity, obesity prevalence was highest for non-Hispanic black women (39 percent) and men (32 percent).
Interestingly enough, education also played a role too. For men who had graduated college saw the lowest levels of obesity at 22 percent and highest among those who only graduated high school at 29 percent. For women, obesity prevalence was also lowest among college graduates (17 percent) and highest among those with less than a high school diploma (32 percent).
The “Healthy People 2010″ goal to reduce the prevalence of obesity to 15 percent or less has not been met by any of the states or the District of Columbia according to the CDC.
“Obesity is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. These diseases can be very costly for states and the country as a whole,” said Deb Galuska, associate director at the DCD’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.
The CDC uses the body mass index of 30 or above (BMI, a math-based ratio of weight to height) to determine obesity. For example, an adult who is 5-feet, 9-inches tall is considered obese if he or she weighs 203 pounds. Although the BMI can be accurate, one must consider body composition to be the main measurement of obesity.
“These data from the CDC confirm that the epidemic of obesity continues to spread, whether looking at population trends in the short or long-term,” stated Howard D. Sesso, a professor of medicie at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Although American’s seem to be putting forth greater effort to maintain a healthy lifestyle, the potential of meeting the “Health People 2010″ goal for obesity doesn’t seem all that likely, Sesso said. “This report highlights the need not only to outright prevent the development of obesity over the life-course, but also to improve efforts to reduce body weight in those already classified as obese,” he said.