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THURSDAY, Nov 29, 2007, (News Locale) - It was with a sense of relief that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the latest obesity data in the country. The report based on the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2005-2006 found obesity numbers holding steady among adults although a third of them are still obese.
According to the CDC, persons having a Body Mass Index of 25 or above are considered overweight, while those having BMIs of 30 or above are obese.
Obesity is a dangerous condition which is linked to the so-called lifestyle diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, heart disease, poor self-esteem, and a lower health-related quality of life.
Sedentary lifestyle practices coupled with a shift in diet to junk foods are the main reason behind this explosion of overweight or obese populations. Americans are among the fattest people in the world, but the level of obesity seems to have hit a plateau as based on the latest NHANES survey.
The CDC report says:
* Some 72 million American adults or a third of the adult population are still obese. In 2003-04, 31.1 percent of men and 33.2 percent of women were classed as obese.
* In 2005-2006 these numbers showed a marginal increase with 33.3 percent of men and 35.3 percent of women being obese.
* Obesity was most prevalent among the 40-59 age group. The report said 40 percent of men in this age group were obese.
In the 20-39 years age group, compared with 28 percent of men were obese, while 32 percent of men 60 and older fell under the obese category.
* Around 41 percent of women in the 40-59 age group were classified as obese as compared to 30.5 percent among women in the age group 20-39.
"Since 1999, there appears to have been a leveling off in obesity among women, but the trend is less clear among men. We do know however that the gap between men and women has narrowed in recent years, with men catching up to the higher rates among women," said lead author Cynthia Ogden, a researcher at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization has declared obesity as a global epidemic having major health implications in 1997. It estimated that some 2 billion people worldwide are obese or overweight. Eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle are important in tackling this crisis. Otherwise obesity is in danger of becoming one of the most preventable causes of death across the globe.
The above report did not touch on the obesity rates in children, which are a cause of serious concern as obese children invariably grow into obese adults.
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