The Latest On The Obesity Epidemic

[DLCoggin 1,788]

The Center for Disease Control has released their annual report on "Obesity Trends Among U.S. Adults". The report is prepared based on data gathered with the world's largest, on-going health telephone survey system - the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Data is collected from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. For the purposes of the report, obesity is defined as adults with a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Unfortunately, the news has not been good for a number of years, and this latest report based on data gathered in 2011, is no exception.

• More than one-third of U.S. adults, 35.7%, are obese.
  
• There is not a single state in the U.S. that has an obesity rate below 20%.
  
• Mississippi is the #1 state with 34.9% of the adult population being obese.
  
• Colorado is the leanest state with 20.7% of the adult population being obsese.
  
• 39 states had a score of 25% or more.
  
• Of those 39 states, 12 had a score of 30% or more: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Misissippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.
  
• The South had the highest prevalence of obesity (29.5%), followed by the Midwest (29.0%), the Northeast (25.3%) and the West (24.3%).
  

As if the dramatic increase in adult obesity is not scary enough, the CDC also reports:

• Obesity now affects 17% of all children and adolescents in the U.S.
  
• The percentage of adolescents and children who are obese tripled from 1980 to 2008.
  
• If we add children who are overweight - in 2008 alone, more than one third of U.S. children and adolescents were overweight or obese.
  
• Statistics show that children and adolescents who are obese have a 70% to 80% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.
  
• http://www.cdc.gov/Features/ObesityAndKids/
  

And the cost of obesity? Here's what the Harvard School of Public Health reports:

• By one estimate, the U.S. spent $190 billion on obesity-related health care expenses in 2005—double previous estimates.
  
• Looking at the "gold-standard" source of health care spending data in the U.S. (the National Health Expenditure Accounts dataset), obesity may have been responsible for as much as $147 billion of health care spending in 2006.
  
• Looking ahead, researchers have estimated that by 2030, if obesity trends continue unchecked, obesity-related medical costs alone could rise by $48 to $66 billion a year in the U.S.
  
• On average, medical spending for obese people was $1429 or 42% greater than spending for people of normal weight in 2006.
  
• http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-consequences/economic/
  

The methodology used by the BRFSS was changed for 2011. Data for the reports generated from 1985 to 2010, was collected using traditional "land line" telephones. In recent years, the number of people exclusively using cell/mobile phones has increased steadily. In order to incorporate cell phone users into the data collected, changes to the BRFSS were necessary. Survey results from 2011 on will better reflect the health status of the people of the United States. But the changes also mean that new data cannot be accurately compared to previous findings. In spite of this change, we can still learn a lot from the historical data collected from 1985 to 2010.

For a dramatic graphical representations of the growth of obesity in the U.S., click the link below. The link is for an animated file that scrolls through the CDC obesity maps from 1985 to 2010. In essence you will see a "movie" of the changes in the U.S. maps showing the spread and increase of obesity over a 26 year period. I can think of no audience who can better understand the implications of these numbers. Please take a moment to view these maps and share your reaction and comments. Curbing and eventually reversing this trend is a matter of national importance - for ourselves, for our kids, and for our country's economic future. In future posts I'll share with you some of the suspected causes of this epidemic, some things that are being done, and many more that could be done with support from folks just like us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obesity_state_level_estimates_1985-2010.gif

[TinyMamiOf3kids 1,280]

Do the obesity in children has to do with parents not knowing how to cook & ordering a lot of fast food?

Me personally I got fat by ordering out at work. I didn't order out so much at home but I had my lazy moments. I did always try to feed my kids home cook meals. My kids are not over weight.

[kiwiladydee 402]

My sister has 3 kids and they all eat the same things. 2 are super skinny like size 0 and 1 and the other is a little fluffy . Why don't they ever say genetics?

[TinyMamiOf3kids 1,280]

My sister has 3 kids and they all eat the same things. 2 are super skinny like size 0 and 1 and the other is a little fluffy . Why don't they ever say genetics?

Sometimes I do think it's genetics. I have seen really heavy people,and the kids are the sameway.

[kristy3k 1,133]

The numbers are staggering. I am not surprised. We are a fast food, quick fix nation. We sit our kids in front of a tv like its some sort of baby sitter and then buy them every video game imaginable. I have been guilty of it in the past to be sure. Now when I go walk, it's a family thing. And I must say I enjoy the time with them. I often think, and I have seen it posted on the boards a time or two that if we lived like they did way back when... no tv, more family interaction, chores to be done outside, we would be a healthier leaner better nation.

[DLCoggin 1,788]

Do the obesity in children has to do with parents not knowing how to cook & ordering a lot of fast food?

Me personally I got fat by ordering out at work. I didn't order out so much at home but I had my lazy moments. I did always try to feed my kids home cook meals. My kids are not over weight.

Certainly the relatively low cost, convenience, and the almost unlimited marketing resources of fast food and soft drink companies are a factor. And as kristy points out TV, video games, and even cell phones also play a role. School menus are coming under closer scrutiny but budgetary factors come into play - fresh, healthy food is more expensive than "meat and potatoes". Living and maintaining an active life style takes time and commitment and parents are short of both. For most, the 40 hour work week is a distant memory and job security is a myth - it simply no longer exists. It's very tough to go out for a great "family walk" after a ten or twelve hour day on the job.

The bottom line is that it is a complex problem. But we can, and we must, recognize the problem and start taking steps to solve it. The cost is already staggering and there is no denying that it will get worse. Not only in terms of dollars and cents, but in terms of quality of life and quite literally life span itself. Failure to take action is not an option and it starts with conversations like this one.

[DLCoggin 1,788]

My sister has 3 kids and they all eat the same things. 2 are super skinny like size 0 and 1 and the other is a little fluffy . Why don't they ever say genetics?

Interestingly enough, the success of bariatric surgery along with the very serious implications of the worldwide obesity epidemic has resulted in significant increases in research dollars. Research moves painfully slow and results are still premature but there is mounting evidence that in some cases, genetics almost certainly plays a role. How big a role and what percentage of the overall number are affected still remains to be determined. But early indications should not be surprising given the importance that "family history" plays in almost every aspect of modern medicine. Much more research still needs to be done but there are early indications that differences in metabolic rates from one individual to the next are much more significant than once thought. And there is also evidence that in some cases, those differences may have a genetic origin. Folks who share the widely held belief that "diet and exercise" are the key to solving the obesity epidemic are at best naive, frequently blatantly prejudiced, always ignorant of the facts, and in some cases just plain fools.

[DLCoggin 1,788]

The numbers are staggering. I am not surprised. We are a fast food, quick fix nation. We sit our kids in front of a tv like its some sort of baby sitter and then buy them every video game imaginable. I have been guilty of it in the past to be sure. Now when I go walk, it's a family thing. And I must say I enjoy the time with them. I often think, and I have seen it posted on the boards a time or two that if we lived like they did way back when... no tv, more family interaction, chores to be done outside, we would be a healthier leaner better nation.

I'm just one guy but I could not possibly agree more strongly! This "city boy" has had more than enough "city". I often wonder how many other city boys and girls feel the same. Well said!!