The U.S. obesity rates are increasing quite a bit in recent times. The Centers for Disease Control on Tuesday released a biennial report on obese Americans. Apparently 2.4 million more people were put within the obese category between 2007 and 2009 which means there is a total of 74.4 million, or 26.7 percent of obese Americans. About $ 147 billion are spent on people who are obese in medical expenses while $ 1,429 more is spent on an obese person yearly than a healthy person.
U.S. obesity rates increase faster than expected
There were 3 states in 2007 that had obesity rates higher than 30 percent while now there are nine states with that status, reports CDC. Washington D.C. also as Colorado both had less than 20, although they were the only states to do so. Obesity has been getting larger than it was expected to be at by now even with programs like Healthy People 2010 that discourage this, explains Dr. Thomas Frieden to the New York Times. Frieden said if the numbers keep going up, more people will get sick and die from the complications of obesity, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.
CDC obesity rates likely underestimated
As the CDC used a survey where they asked 400,000 individuals what their height and weight was instead of measuring, which means the numbers that were received were probably too low. The Times noted that people tend to describe themselves as taller and lighter than they really are. After getting this information, the body mass index, or BMI, was calculated for all of them. Obese means the BMI score is over 30. An example of somebody with a BMI at 30 would be a woman who weighs 174 pounds and is 5-foot-4 or a man who weighs 209 but is 5-foot-10.
Healthy People 2010 failed program
2.4 million more individuals are obese now, which is a 1.1 percent increase. In just 2001, there weren’t any states able to claim having 30 percent or more obesity, reports Health News on the CDC report. In the last CDC obesity report, published in 2007, 3 states had hit 30 percent. 9 states could claim 30 percent by 2009. Not a single state had an obesity rate below 15 percent, the goal of Healthy Individuals 2010, a program started in 2000 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Friedan explain that, “past efforts and investments to prevent and control obesity have not been adequate.”
America’s ‘obesogenic’ society
On its Obesity webpage, the CDC describes American society as “obesogenic,” meaning individuals live in environments that promote over-eating, unhealthy food and physical inactivity. About one third of all individuals in this category haven’t ever seen a physician over it, reports an HHS survey.
Additional reading
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/08/04/health/nutrition/04fat.html?_r=1
Health News
healthnews.com/family-health/obesity-in-america-new-cdc-report-is-grim-reminder-4388.html
CDC
cdc.gov/obesity/
