• Today, 66 percent of adults in the United States are considered overweight or obese.
All adults: 133.6 million (66 percent)
Women: 65 million (61.6 percent)
Men: 68.3 million (70.5 percent)
• Nearly one-third of U.S. adults are obese (BMI > 30)
All adults: 63.6 million (31.4 percent)
Women: 35 million (33.2 percent)
Men: 28.6 million (29.5 percent)
• During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%
• Adults aged 40-59 had the highest obesity prevalence compared with other age groups. Approximately 40% of men in this age group were obese, and among women, 41% of those aged 40-59 were obese.
• Since 1980, overweight rates have doubled among children and tripled among adolescents – increasing the number of years they are exposed to the health risks of obesity.
• Prevalence of overweight or obesity in adult minorities:
Non-Hispanic Black Women: 79.6 percent
Mexican-American Women: 73 percent
Non-Hispanic White Women: 57.6 percent
Non-Hispanic Black Men: 67 percent
Mexican-American Men: 74.6 percent
Non-Hispanic White Men: 71 percent
• The primary behaviors causing the obesity epidemic are well known and preventable: physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. Despite this knowledge:
Only about 25% of U.S. adults eat the recommended five or more servings
of fruits and vegetables each day.
Less than 25% of adolescents eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
• Only 26 percent of U.S. adults engage in vigorous leisure-time physical activity three or more times per week (defined as periods of vigorous physical activity lasting 10 minutes or more). About 59 percent of adults do no vigorous physical activity at all in their leisure time.
• Being obese increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers. If you are obese, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your weight can delay or prevent some of these diseases.
• U.S. medical expenditures attributable to obesity reached $75 billion in 2003.
Above content provided by the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Health & Human Services, and the CDC in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. For advice about your medical care, consult your doctor
Posted January 2010