U.S. obesity rate increasing as shown in CDC report

The U.S. obesity rates are increasing quite a bit in recent times. The Centers for Disease Control wrote a report on the obesity and released it on Tuesday. Evidently 2.4 million more people were put in 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 individuals who are obese in medical expenditures 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 you will find 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. Because many people are becoming more obese, there is likely to also be an increase in cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

CDC obesity rates off

The CDC obesity rates within the report are likely underestimated because they’re depending on a phone survey that asked 400,000 individuals about their height and weight — instead of having it measured by someone else. The Times noted that people tend to describe themselves as taller and lighter than they really are. The data was used to calculate their body mass index (BMI). An adult is considered obese with a BMI of 30 or above. 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 didn’t work

2.4 million more people 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. When the CDC released their reports in 2007, there were three states at the 30 percent mark. By 2009 there were 9 states. There aren’t any states below 15 percent which is where it was intended to be with the Healthy People 2010 program began in 2000 by the Department of Health and Human services. It was said by Friedan that, “past efforts and investments to prevent and control obesity have not been adequate.”

Now U.S. is becoming ‘obesogenic’

An “obesogenic” society is what CDC calls American lifestyles that involve eating unhealthily along with inactivity when it comes to exercising. An HHS survey released earlier this year stated that one-third of obese adults and most children never received advice from a doctor about healthy eating and exercise.

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/