This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ClueBot (talk | contribs) at 15:25, 14 March 2008 (Reverting possible vandalism by 207.235.188.1 to version by Hatmatbbat10. False positive? report it. Thanks, User:ClueBot. (275734) (Bot)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:25, 14 March 2008 by ClueBot (talk | contribs) (Reverting possible vandalism by 207.235.188.1 to version by Hatmatbbat10. False positive? report it. Thanks, User:ClueBot. (275734) (Bot))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Obesity in the United States has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent decades. While many industrialized countries have experienced similar increases, American obesity rates lead the world with 64% of adults being overweight and almost a quarter being obese. Estimates of the number of obese American adults rose from 23.7% in 2003 to 24.5% in 2005.
The economic cost attributable to obesity in the United States has been estimated to be as high as $99.2 billion in 1995, with $51.64 billion attributable to direct medical costs.
One recent study from the Netherlands, however, found that while obesity prevention programs reduce the cost of treating diseases related to obesity, those reductions are offset by medical costs during the additional years of life gained. The authors concluded that reducing obesity may improve public health, but is unlikely to reduce overall health spending.
In the military
16% of active duty U.S. military personnel are obese. Obesity is currently the largest single cause for the discharge of soldiers.
Incidence by state
The following figures were averaged from 2004-2006 adult data compiled by the CDC BRFSS program.:
State | Overweight (%) | Obese (%) | Obesity rank |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 64.7 | 29.4 | 3 |
Alaska | 63.7 | 25.8 | 16 |
Arizona | 57.3 | 21.7 | 43 |
Arkansas | 63.7 | 27.0 | 8 |
California | 59.9 | 22.7 | 36 |
Colorado | 54.2 | 17.6 | 51 |
Connecticut | 57.7 | 20.1 | 47 |
Delaware | 62.2 | 23.6 | 29 |
D.C. | 55.0 | 22.2 | 40 |
Florida | 60.0 | 22.9 | 34 |
Georgia | 61.4 | 26.1 | 14 |
Hawaii | 54.5 | 20.1 | 47 |
Idaho | 59.8 | 23.2 | 31 |
Illinois | 60.7 | 24.4 | 25 |
Indiana | 62.5 | 26.8 | 9 |
Iowa | 62.1 | 24.9 | 20 |
Kansas | 61.3 | 24.3 | 27 |
Kentucky | 64.9 | 27.5 | 7 |
Louisiana | 63.4 | 28.2 | 4 |
Maine | 60.1 | 23.0 | 33 |
Maryland | 60.1 | 24.4 | 25 |
Massachusetts | 55.3 | 19.8 | 50 |
Michigan | 62.7 | 26.8 | 9 |
Minnesota | 61.3 | 23.7 | 28 |
Mississippi | 66.5 | 30.6 | 1 |
Missouri | 62.8 | 26.3 | 12 |
Montana | 58.0 | 20.7 | 45 |
Nebraska | 63.0 | 25.4 | 18 |
Nevada | 60.8 | 22.5 | 37 |
New Hampshire | 59.5 | 22.4 | 38 |
New Jersey | 59.6 | 22.2 | 40 |
New Mexico | 59.3 | 22.0 | 42 |
New York | 58.6 | 22.4 | 38 |
North Carolina | 62.3 | 25.6 | 17 |
North Dakota | 63.8 | 25.1 | 19 |
Ohio | 62.5 | 26.0 | 15 |
Oklahoma | 62.9 | 26.8 | 9 |
Oregon | 59.8 | 23.3 | 30 |
Pennsylvania | 61.4 | 24.5 | 23 |
Rhode Island | 58.8 | 20.5 | 46 |
South Carolina | 63.7 | 27.8 | 5 |
South Dakota | 62.9 | 24.9 | 20 |
Tennessee | 63.9 | 27.8 | 5 |
Texas | 63.1 | 26.3 | 12 |
Utah | 55.8 | 21.1 | 44 |
Vermont | 55.4 | 20.0 | 49 |
Virginia | 61.0 | 24.5 | 23 |
Washington | 59.5 | 23.2 | 31 |
West Virginia | 65.5 | 29.8 | 2 |
Wisconsin | 61.8 | 24.8 | 22 |
Wyoming | 60.2 | 22.8 | 35 |
Anti-obesity efforts
Due to pressure from parents and anti-obesity advocates, many school districts have removed sodas, junk foods, and candy from snack and vending machines and cafeterias. State legislators in California, for example, passed laws banning the sale of machine-dispensed snacks and drinks in elementary schools in 2003, despite objections by the California-Nevada Soft Drink Association. The state followed more recently with legislation to prohibit their soda sales in high schools by 2009, with the shortfall in school revenue to be compensated by an increase in funding for school lunch programs. In mid-2006, the American Beverage Association (including Cadbury Schweppes, Coca Cola and PepsiCo) agreed to a voluntary ban on the sale of all high-calorie drinks in school vending machines and beverages in containers larger than 8, 10 and 12 ounces in elementary, middle and high schools, respectively.
References
- "Obesity Statistics: U.S. Obesity Trends". North American Association for the Study of Obesity. 2006. p. 4. Retrieved 2008-03-08..
- Segal, Laura; Glendening, Parris; Hearne, Shelley (August 2005), F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2005 (PDF), retrieved 2008-03-08.
- Wolf, A. M.; Colditz, G. A. (1998), "Current estimates of the economic cost of obesity in the United States", Obesity Research, 6 (2): 97–106.
- van Baal, P. H. M.; Polder, J. J.; de Wit, G. A.; Hoogenveen, R. T. (February 2008), "Lifetime medical costs of obesity: Prevention no cure for increasing health expenditure", PLoS Medicine, 5 (2), Public Library of Science
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ignored (help). - Basu, Sandra (2004-03-25). "Military Not Immune From Obesity Epidemic". U.S. Medicine. Retrieved 2008-03-08..
- "Obesity and Overweight: Trends: U.S. Obesity Trends 1985–2006". CDC. 2007-07-27. Retrieved 2008-03-08..
- Levi, Jeffrey; Gadola, Emily; Segal, Laura (August 2007), F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America, 2007 (PDF), Trust For America's Health, pp. 6–8. Note: the report defines "overweight" as BMI ≥25, "obese" as BMI ≥30.
- Otto, Mary; Aratani, Lori (2006-05-04). "Soda Ban Means Change at Schools". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-03-08..
- Finz, Stacy (2006-05-22). "State high school soda ban expected on books by 2009". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-03-08..
- Mayer, Caroline (2006-05-03). "Sugary Drinks To Be Pulled From Schools: Industry Agrees to Further Limit Availability to Children". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-03-08..
- Burros, Marian; Warner, Melania (2006-05-04). "Bottlers Agree to a School Ban on Sweet Drinks". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-08..