New estimates suggest that the number of overweight
and obese adults in the United States continues to
rise, every three in four men is overweight or
obese, and the same can be said for two out of every
three women.
The number of obese adult Americans (67.6 million)
now eclipses those who are only overweight (65.2
million).
Graham A. Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Lin Yang,
Ph.D., of the Washington University School of
Medicine, St. Louis, analyzed data from the National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to
2012 to estimate the prevalence of overweight and
obesity. They collected data for 15,208 men and
women 25 or older, a sample that was representative
of more than 188 million people.
The study, which was reported in a research letter,
estimates that 39.96 percent of men (36.3 million)
and 29.74 percent of women (almost 28.9 million)
were overweight and 35.04 percent of men (31.8
million) and 36.84 percent of women (nearly 35.8
million) were obese.
"Population-based strategies helping to reduce
modifiable risk factors such as physical environment
interventions, enhancing primary care efforts to
prevent and treat obesity, and altering societal
norms of behavior are required," the authors
conclude, but the problem has only gotten worse over
the last two decades, despite efforts from the
government and the health community to educate
people on how to take care of themselves when it
comes to food and lifestyle choices.
the research, conducted by the Washington University
School of Medicine and published in The Journal of
the American Medical Association.
For more information
Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United
States, 2007-2012
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