Obesity Stats

More than 33% of the adult population in the United States is obese. Obesity increased from 15.0% in the late 1970’s to 33% in 2004.  As of 2006, 34 percent of Americans, including 33% of men and 35 % of women, are obese.  In 1991 only 4 states had obesity rates greater than 15%. In 2006, no state had an obesity rate less than 15%.

Obesity costs an estimated 100 billion dollar per year.  





Many factors contribute to the obesity.   Women are eating 22% and men are eating 7% more calories than 30 years ago. The American diet is approximately 40% fat.

American culture is inundated around food; most social events revolve around food, high calorie foods can be found in most work places and a fast food restaurant is on almost every corner. While fast food in itself is not the main determinate of obesity, our choices contribute to obesity. A hamburger, small fries and a diet soda is about 500 calories. A more typical meal is a double cheeseburger, large fries and a large soda - almost 1500 calories.

Kids are obese as well. The generation of kids that are being raised today may have shorter life spans than their parents. Kids are exposed to obesity and the medical consequences associated with that obesity. Children eat poorly, a habit that is the result of not only their parents, but also the previous generation and society in general.

Being overweight or obese is being at a weight that is more than what is considered healthy. It increases the risk of many diseases, reduces quality of life and increases risk of death.

The Body mass index (BMI) helps define risk of body weight. Generally, for adults, the BMI correlates with the amount of body fat. It is not a perfect system, as it does not directly measure body fat. For an individual with a large amount of muscle mass the equation will overestimate the amount of fat. This equation will underestimate body fat for those with significant muscle wasting.

The BMI utilizes a mathematical formula to classify patients as underweight, normal body weight, overweight and obese.

Check out the link below to determine your BMI.