Health

Americans Now More Obese than Overweight

by Karenke4 | January 13, 2009 at 10:23 am

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New statistics now show that there are more obese Americans than overweight Americans. Based on the most current data from a 2005-2006 survey obese Americans make up over a third of the population in the States. The cumulative effect is quite alarming.

Numbers posted by the National Center for Health Statistics show that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are overweight. It said just under 6 percent are"extremely" obese.

The study used BMI numbers to determine determine if people were overweight or obese.

"During the physical examination, conducted in mobile examination centers, height and weight were measured as part of a more comprehensive set of body measurements," the NCHS report said.

"Although the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled since 1980, the prevalence of overweight has remained stable over the same time period," it said.

Obesity and overweight are calculated using a formula called body mass index. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Someone with a BMI of 25 to 29 is classified as overweight, 30 to 40 counts as obese and people with BMIs of 40 or more are morbidly obese.

While this data represents adults, children are not far behind their parents. One third of American youth are overweight which can lead to a myriad of health problems later on in addition to adding a significant burden to the already overworked health care system.

You can calculate your BMI here.

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Geneva B

at 16:09 on January 13th, 2009

Oh that's just lovely...

At the core of this issue is educating people about making nutritious food choices; people from lower socio-economic backgrounds tend to buy food that is affordable yet unfortunately does not exactly lead to a healthy lifestyle. It is not necessarily more expensive to eat well but it does take some know-how. Since obesity exacerbates pre-existing medical conditions it is even more of a threat to the healthcare system.

Karenke4

at 15:47 on January 13th, 2009

I agree Geneva. I'm not sure how we've strayed so far from such a basic thing as knowing how to eat, but it appears that we have. And while "healthy" food does not have to be expensive, unhealthy, processed foods are often cheaper because they are not made with "real" ingredients. It is a sad state of affairs.