Thank you so much for signing the page and supporting our efforts for better education and program development to fight Obesity and promote fitness and nutritional programs. Your signature helps us to move forward in our crusade to develop a healthier America.
Adult Obesity Facts
Obesity is common, serious and costly
- More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese. [Read abstract Journal of American Medicine (JAMA)
] - Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. [Read guidelines]
- The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. [Read summary]
Obesity affects some groups more than others
[Read abstract Journal of American Medicine (JAMA)]
- Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (47.8%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (32.6%), and non-Hispanic Asians (10.8%)
- Obesity is higher among middle age adults, 40-59 years old (39.5%) than among younger adults, age 20-39 (30.3%) or adults over 60 or above (35.4%) adults.
Childhood Obesity Facts
Childhood obesity prevalence remains high. Overall, obesity among our nation’s young people, aged 2 to 19 years, has not changed significantly since 2003-2004 and remains at about 17 percent. However among 2-5 years old, obesity has declined based on CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. [Read abstract Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA)]
- Approximately 17% (or 12.7 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years had obesity.
- The prevalence of obesity among children aged 2 to 5 years decreased significantly from 13.9% in 2003-2004 to 8.4% in 2011-2012.
- There are significant racial and age disparities in obesity prevalence among children and adolescents. In 2011-2012, obesity prevalence was higher among Hispanics (22.4%) and non-Hispanic black youth (20.2%) than non-Hispanic white youth (14.1%). The prevalence of obesity was lower in non-Hispanic Asian youth (8.6%) than in youth who were non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black or Hispanic.
- In 2011-2012, 8.4% of 2- to 5-year-olds had obesity compared with 17.7% of 6- to 11-year-olds and 20.5% of 12- to 19-year-olds.
Note: In children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years, obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the sex-specific CDC BMI-for-age growth charts.
* Help us reach this goal by signing below and posting on your social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Take the Healthy Life Wellness Challenge and click on the Facebook and/or Twitter image below the signature area once you sign and spread the word. The key to fighting Obesity is to look beyond weight loss and into changing your mindset, developing drive for change and achieving your goals by implementing the right program.
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