WEIGHT CONTROL STATISTICS
(source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - www.niddk.nih.gov)
(source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Approximately 280,000 adult deaths in the US each year are attributable to obesity
- The number of overweight individuals in the US continues to rise for all age groups
- More than half of US adults are overweight (55%), 22% of US adults are obese
- Approximately 40% of US adult males and females are at a "healthy weight"
- From 1991 to 1998, obesity increased in every state of the US, in both genders, and across all races/ethnicities, age groups, educational levels, and smoking status
- 66% of Black and Mexican American adult women are overweight versus 49% of white women
- 61% of US adult males are overweight versus 49% of US adult females
- As of 1994, approximately 11% of children and adolescents were overweight, up from 5% in the 1960's and 1970's
- About 70% of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight versus the population average of 55%
- 28% of overweight American women have high cholesterol levels versus 16% of American women who are not overweight
- Obese individuals have a 50-100% increased risk of death compared with non-obese individuals (most of this increased risk is due to cardiovascular risks)
- Total direct and indirect costs associated with obesity and overweight individuals is $99.2 billion
- Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight loss products and services
- 25% of Americans claim they do no physical activity at all in their leisure time
(source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Did you know obesity and being overweight are known risk factors for: Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, gall bladder disease, osteoporosis, sleep and breathing problems, and some forms of cancer?
- Did you know obesity is associated with: High blood cholesterol, pregnancy complications, menstrual irregularities, psychological disorders such as depression, and increased surgical risk?
- Did you know there are a number of methods used to determine if an individual is overweight or obese? They include Body Mass Index, Body Fat Testing, and Wieight-for-height Charts.
- Did you know 97.1 million U.S. adults are considered overweight according to the Body Mass Index method (BMI > or = 25) and of those, 39.8 million are obese (BMI > or = 30)?
- Did you know that many minorities (excluding Asian Americans) have higher tendencies for obesity and overweight?
