The Facts
Prevalence of Obesity
The prevalence of obesity in children and young adults has quadrupled over the past 25 years. And Americans are becoming obese at younger ages: Approximately 27 percent of U.S. adults are obese by their mid-30s.
- For adults 20 - 74 years of age, the prevalence of obesity has increased from 15% in 1976 to 32.9%.
- For children ages 2 - 5 years, prevalence increased from 5% to 13.9%.
- For those 6 - 11 years, the increase was 6.5% to 18.8 %.
- For those 12 - 19 years, the increase was 5% to 17.4%.
Definition of Obesity
Obesity is defined as a high amount of body fat in relation to lean body mass, which equals a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher.
The Body Mass Index is a measure of weight in relation to height. Specifically, it is the height divided by the square of the weight.
Dangers of Obesity
- An estimated 300,000 deaths per year may be attributable to obesity.
- Even moderate amounts of excess fat (10 to 20 pounds for a person of average height) increases the risk of death, particularly among adults aged 30 to 64 years, especially if this fat is stored as abdominal fat tissue.
- Individuals who are obese (BMI > 30) have a 50 to 100% increased risk of premature death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight.
- Heart disease is increased in persons who are overweight (BMI > 25) or obese (BMI > 30).
- High blood pressure is twice as common in adults who are obese than in those who are at a healthy weight.
- A weight gain of 11 to 18 pounds increases a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes to twice that of individuals who have not gained weight.
- Overweight and obesity are associated with an increased risk for some types of cancer including endometrial, colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney, and postmenopausal breast cancer.
- Women gaining more than 20 pounds from age 18 to midlife double their risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, compared to women whose weight remains stable.
