Backgrounder-Obesity in the United States
Adult Statistics
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- The prevalence of obesity in the United States continued to grow in 1999, representing a serious public health threat to millions of Americans.
- Obesity rose 6 percent nationally between 1998 and 1999, and the increase affected all regions and demographic groups and most states in the United States.
- Since 1991, obesity among adults has increased by nearly 60 percent nationally.
- Individuals 30-39 years of age had a 10 percent increase in obesity between 1998 and 1999. Diabetes in this same age group increased by 70 percent in the 1990s.
- Overweight and physical inactivity account for more than 300,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S., second only to tobacco-related deaths.
Approximately 280, 000 adult deaths in the United States each year are attributable to obesity (Allison et al. 1999).
- More than half of U.S. adults are overweight (Flegal et al. 1998).
All adults (20 years old): 97.1 million (54.9 percent)
Women (20 years old): 46.9 million (50.7 percent)
Men (20 years old): 50.2 million (59.4 percent)
- Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults are obese (Flegal et al. 1998).
All adults (20 years old): 39.8 million (22.3 percent)
Women (20 years old): 23 million (25 percent)
Men (20 years old): 16.8 million (19.5 percent)
- Less than half of U.S. adults are a healthy weight (Flegal et al. 1998).
All adults (20 years old): 73.2 million (41.4 percent)
Women (20 years old): 40.3 million (43.6 percent)
Men (20 years old): 32.9 million (39 percent)
Obese individuals have a 50-100 percent increased risk of death from all causes, compared with normal-weight individuals. Most of the increased risk is due to cardiovascular causes (National Heart Lung and Blood Institute 1998).
Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight-loss products and services (Colditz 1992).
Healthy People 2010, a national initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to improve the health of all Americans, identified Leading Health Indicators that reflect the major public health concerns in the United States; overweight and obesity is one of the Leading Health Indicators.
Childhood Statistics
The prevalence of overweight is increasing for children and adolescents in the United States, according to CDC's Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) (1988-1994). Approximately 14 percent of children (ages 6-11) and 12 percent of adolescents (ages 12-17) were overweight.
Physical Activity Statistics
Only 22 percent of U.S. adults get the recommended regular physical activity (5 times a week for at least 30 minutes) of any intensity during leisure time. About 15 percent get the recommended amount of vigorous activity (3 times a week for at least 20 minutes). About 25 percent of adults claim they do no physical activity at all in their leisure time (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1996).
About 25 percent of young people (ages 12-21 years) participate in light to moderate activity (e.g., walking, bicycling) nearly every day. About 50 percent regularly engage in vigorous physical activity. Approximately 25 percent report no vigorous physical activity (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1996).
Lack of physical activity contributes to the high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States. In addition to helping to control weight, physical activity decreases the risk of dying from coronary heart disease and reduces the risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, and colon cancer (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1996).
Definitions of Overweight and Obesity
To understand the significance of statistics related to overweight and obesity, it is important to know how overweight and obesity are defined and measured.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, overweight is defined as a BMI ≥ 25 to less than 30, and obesity is defined as a BMI ≥ 30. A BMI of 30 in most cases means an individual is about 30 pounds overweight. These definitions are based on evidence that health risks increase more steeply in individuals with a BMI ≥ 25.
Body Mass Index is found by dividing a person's weight in Kilograms by height in meters squared
References
Allison DB, Fontaine KR, et al. Annual deaths attributable to obesity in the United States. JAMA. 1999; 282 (16):1530-1538.
Colditz CA. Economic costs of obesity. AM J Clin Nutr. 1992;55:503-507s.
Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ, Johnson CL. Overweight and obesity in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1960-1994. Int J Obes. 1998;22:39-47.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. June 1998. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2000. Healthy People 2010: understanding and improving health.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1996. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kuczmarski RJ, Carrol MD, Flegal KM, Troiano RP. Varying body mass index cutoff points to describe overweight prevalence among U.S. adults: NHANES III (1988-1994). Obes Res. 1997;5:542-548.
The Peanut Institute is a not-for-proft organization dedicated to supporting nutrition research, education. and the assessment of health eating patterns throughout the human life cycle. For further information write pmkassociates@pmkassociates.com.
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