Overweight and Obesity in the United States

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1), there are approximately:

• 127 million people who are overweight (BMI of 25-29.9);
• 60 million people are obese (BMI of 30-30.9); and
• 9 million people are severely obese (BMI of 40 or higher).
• About 300,000 deaths are associated with obesity each year in the US

Adults as of 2002 (1)

• Almost two-thirds of adults (65%) over age 20 are overweight;
• Almost one-third of adults (31%) are obese;
• About 5% of adults are considered to be severely obese.
• View state by state prevalence of obesity in adults:

Children and Adolescents as of 2000 (1)

• 16% of children and adolescents ages 6-19 were considered to be overweight
• Another 15% were at-risk of becoming overweight.
• The number of children and adolescents considered to be overweight has tripled since 1980.
• Overweight and obesity are measured differently for children and adolescents.  A child or adolescent is considered obese when s/he is in the 95th percentile of BMI-for-age group using CDC growth charts.  Read more on childhood obesity

There are a number of ways to understand and assess the increase the prevalence of overweight and obesity:

• Read about trends in overweight and obesity and see a Power Point presentation on state level data from CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS):
• Individual level data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) suggest that during 2003-2004, 66% of the adult population in the US is either overweight or obese.(2)

The number of people who are overweight and obese has increased substantially in the past 30 years.  Prevalence based on NHANES data report that: (2)

• The prevalence of overweight or ovesity among adults ages 20-74 has increased from 47.0% in 1976-80 to 66.2% in 2002-2004.
• The prevalence of obesity among adults ages 20-74 has increased from 15.0% in 1976-80 to 32.9% in 2003-2004.

Overweight and Obesity affect both genders and all ages:

• Both men and women suffer from overweight and obesity:
• The prevalence of overweight is slightly higher in men (67%) than women (62%);
• The prevalence of obesity is higher among women (34%) than men (27.7%).
• Overweight and obesity increase with age
• All age groups (over age 20) are affected:
• At least half of the people in all age groups are overweight.
• At least 1 in 5 people (20%) in all age groups are obese.

African Americans and Hispanics are more likely be overweight and obese than their white counterparts.  See Health Disparities in Overweigth and Obesity

Overweight and Obesity are preventable health problems.  Obesity, for example is the second leading cause of preventable death. (1) (See Prevention and Management of Overweight and Obesity)

The Economic Consequences of being overweight or obesity are related to:

• Costs associated with medial care (both direct and indirect costs);
• Absenteeism and lost time from work
• Decreased productivity at work
• Reduced life expectancy

Estimates of the costs associated with overweight and obesity based on national data range from $51.5 billion to $78 billion in 1998.

These estimates do not account for money spent on non-medical activities related to losing weight such as exercise equipment, gym or weight-loss program memberships or non-prescription supplements.

Sources:

(1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics,

(2) Centers for Disease control and Prevention, National center for Health Statistics, Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: 2003-2004.

(2) American Obesity Association

actforhealth@yahoo.com

Site developed by ORC Macro
Page last updated: 10/02/2006

ACT for Health, Adolescent and Child Targets for Health Foundation, Inc., is an educational and charitable non-profit, non-governmental organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.