Shocking Obesity Statistics

• General Population 
- More than one third of U.S. adults-more than 72 million people-and 16% of U.S. children are obese 
- Since 1980, obesity rates for adults have doubled and rates for children have tripled 
- Among Americans age 20 and older, 142 million are overweight or obese (73 million men and 69 million women) 
- Of these 142 million overweight or obese people, 67 million are obese (30.7 million men and 36.7 million women) 
- From 1960 to 2004, the prevalence of overweight increased from 44.8% to 66% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74. 
- From 1960 to 2004, the prevalence of obesity increased from 13.3% to 32.1% in U.S. adults age 20 to 74, with most of this rise occurring since 1980

• Childhood Obesity 
- Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years 
- Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults (this increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese) 
- 13.9 percent of children two to five years of age, 18.8 percent of children six to 11 years of age, and 17.4 percent of adolescents 12 to 19 years of age in America are obese 
- Among infants and children between 6 and 23 months, the prevalence of obesity rose from 7.2% in 1976-1980 to 11.5% in 2003-2004 
- Nearly 14% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 were overweight in 2003-2004, up from 10.3% in 1999-2000 
- Children who are considered overweight have a 70% chance of becoming overweight adults 
- Among overweight children and teens between the ages of 2 and 19 (or their parents), 36.7% reported ever having been told by a doctor or HCP that they were overweight (for those between the ages of 2 and 5, this percentage was 17.4%)

• Increased Risk of Disease 
- Being obese increases a child's risk for some serious childhood medical problems, including: 
- Asthma 
- Pre-diabetes and diabetes: (a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that one in three American children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime) 
- Heart disease, high blood pressure (early indicators of atherosclerosis, the most common cause of heart disease, begin as early as childhood and adolescence in children with risk factors. Atherosclerosis is related to high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which are associated with poor eating habits and overweight) 
- Sleep apnea and breathing problems 
- Bone conditions, such as hip problems 
- Gastro-intestinal diseases 
- Early puberty 
- Psychological problems, like poor self-esteem and depression 
- Obese children are more than twice as likely to have diabetes as nonobese children 
- An as-yet-unpublished study led by Dr Geetha Raghueveer, from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, was presented at the recent American Heart Association conference in New Orleans. The researchers found that the artery walls of obese children and teens, or those who have high cholesterol, are as thick as artery walls in the average 45-year-old 
- With children, measuring BMI and taking action if it's too high can actually help prevent heart disease from developing 
- The prevalence of overweight among adolescents in the United States has nearly tripled in the past two decades... Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity are closely linked to type 2 diabetes. - U.S. Surgeon General 
- During the mid-1990s, type 2 diabetes in youth increased ten-fold in the US, and mirrored the childhood obesity epidemic. - Dr. Kaufman ("Childhood Obesity: The Declining Health of America's Next Generation," testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, July 16, 2008) 
- In children who are overweight, between 25 percent and 40 percent will have the metabolic syndrome that sets the stage for diabetes and heart problems

• Multicultural Populations 
- Among women, the age-adjusted prevalence of overweight or obesity in racial and ethnic minorities is higher among non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-American women than among non-Hispanic White women (among men, there is little difference in prevalence among these three groups) 
- African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S. (about four out of five African American women are overweight or obese) 
- Among Mexican American women, 73 percent are overweight or obese, as compared to only 61.6 percent of the general female population 
- Among Hispanic adults age 18 and older, 39.6% are overweight and 27.5% are obese 
- African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians have been experiencing the highest rates of increase in childhood obesity. On average, 25 percent of children in these ethnic groups are obese 
- Among children between the ages of 2 and 5, 13% of non-Hispanic blacks and 19% of Mexican Americans are overweight. (Scott Christ)