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Growing Girth: Obesity in America
There's no sign of a slowdown in obesity, with about 26% of U.S. adults being obese in 2008, according to the CDC's latest obesity statistics, which were released today.
But if you take a close look at that figure, you might see a little wiggle room.
The CDC calculated adult obesity rates based on phone interviews with more than 400,000 U.S. adults who gave their height and weight as part of a national health survey in 2008.
Be honest -- if you were called for that survey, how accurate would you be in reporting your stats? Would you fudge it a smidge -- and when was the last time you got on a scale to check?
Even if you know your numbers to the ounce and inch, there's a chance that BMI (body mass index), which relates height to weight, doesn't do you justice.
For instance, BMI doesn't show how much of your weight is muscle, how much is fat, and where that fat is distributed. Having a large waist (over 40 inches for men; over 35 inches for women) may put you at higher risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. That's why some health experts like checking waist measurement or waist-to-hip ratio, instead of relying on BMI.
Plus, there is debate about whether weight is really what matters, or whether fitness -- regardless of size -- is more important.
In August 2008, researchers reported that nearly a third of obese people aren't at high risk of diabetes or heart disease. That same study showed that being skinny doesn't mean you're a low risk of those conditions. And in 2007, Italian researchers coined the term "normal-weight obese" to describe people who weren't overweight but had a high percentage of body fat.
But in April 2008, other researchers reported that being physically active doesn't totally make up for being overweight.
Stigma about obesity is also important. Too often, weight gets cast in "good" or "bad" terms, though it's a lot more complex than just personal choices, as experts from Mississippi -- the nation's fattest state -- recently told WebMD.
The CDC's new report isn't about all that. It's a statistical snapshot, the latest in a long line of similar reports.
What do you think it will take for the U.S. to start to curb obesity? How does the term "obesity" make you feel -- especially if you're one of the millions of Americans in that category -- and are your biggest weight challenges about your personal choices, your environment (like whether you can afford healthy food), or how people treat you?
But if you take a close look at that figure, you might see a little wiggle room.
The CDC calculated adult obesity rates based on phone interviews with more than 400,000 U.S. adults who gave their height and weight as part of a national health survey in 2008.
Be honest -- if you were called for that survey, how accurate would you be in reporting your stats? Would you fudge it a smidge -- and when was the last time you got on a scale to check?
Even if you know your numbers to the ounce and inch, there's a chance that BMI (body mass index), which relates height to weight, doesn't do you justice.
For instance, BMI doesn't show how much of your weight is muscle, how much is fat, and where that fat is distributed. Having a large waist (over 40 inches for men; over 35 inches for women) may put you at higher risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. That's why some health experts like checking waist measurement or waist-to-hip ratio, instead of relying on BMI.
Plus, there is debate about whether weight is really what matters, or whether fitness -- regardless of size -- is more important.
In August 2008, researchers reported that nearly a third of obese people aren't at high risk of diabetes or heart disease. That same study showed that being skinny doesn't mean you're a low risk of those conditions. And in 2007, Italian researchers coined the term "normal-weight obese" to describe people who weren't overweight but had a high percentage of body fat.
But in April 2008, other researchers reported that being physically active doesn't totally make up for being overweight.
Stigma about obesity is also important. Too often, weight gets cast in "good" or "bad" terms, though it's a lot more complex than just personal choices, as experts from Mississippi -- the nation's fattest state -- recently told WebMD.
The CDC's new report isn't about all that. It's a statistical snapshot, the latest in a long line of similar reports.
What do you think it will take for the U.S. to start to curb obesity? How does the term "obesity" make you feel -- especially if you're one of the millions of Americans in that category -- and are your biggest weight challenges about your personal choices, your environment (like whether you can afford healthy food), or how people treat you?
13 Comments:
If we are going to reverse this trend, we have got to STOP eating processed foods. Buy organic. Buy local. www.foodincmovie.com
The american diet has rapidly changed in the last few decades, mainly due to oversimplification of what "good health" means and what diet to go with. The changing "ideal diet" from the scientific community, mainly run by non-scientists, affecting the diet decisions of millions without substantial evidence or testing. Certain things most can agree on, but most do not do so publicly.
First, the elimination of processed/refined flours and sugars, has tremendous benefits to people with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and others, and can help prevent these diseases occuring in normal people.
I highly suggest everyone do their own research, and realize that a diet is not a temporary thing to lose weight, but a lifestyle to bring life and good health to everyone, forever.
I wish we could reduce the amount of fast food available, and increase other more positive alternatives for fast food for those who need/desire the convenience.
Obesity and its effects are going to bankrupt our medical care system and Medicare within the next 20 years. I cannot believe the crap people stuff into their mouths. No exercise, fat foods, terrible diets. No wonder everyone looks like a porker.
I had a Dr. suggest Bariatric surgery to lose 100 lbs. & then he put on my receipt from office visit obesity. This doesn't make the patient feel any better about themselves. Doctors should address the fact that once you lose the weight how much it would cost to do a tummy tuck to address the sagging skin. I think alot of people such as myself are afraid of the sagging skin left which they may not be able to afford to pay to correct. I'm sure the health insurance companies don't pay for it. I wish WebMD would let the public know how much tummy tucks range in cost.
There are a lot of reasons for being obese, and I am of the opinion that modern western medicine doesn't really know how to address them.
Diets fail more often than not. Because they are largly 180 from the bodies master program. Diets usually cause the body to sense impending starvation and therefore store rather than burn calories.
Some folks, like me, are almost addicted to food and to the wrong kinds of food. For us dieting or diet/exercise do not work. I can and do seek food 30 minutes after a large and satifying meal!
Organic food is badly over priced so when I go shopping I look for the best prices on reg.produce and grocerys.We can afford the expensive produce but I check it out and really don't see the advantage of organic foods.We do buy the local farm grown vege's and fruit when it arrives but husband is a diabetic with complications so fruit is monitored carefully as is all his food.SO hot here today at least we aren't near the desert!
The failing economy, job loss, under and no employment will cause folks to buy the cheapest or comfort food. For folks with limited income and no control over their lives, food decisions become more important to them. People will choose the foods THEY want to eat, not what may be the healthiest. I don't know about you, but I am free to make my own choices about food, not government and the "well meaning" food police.
It is the food and "easy on you" appliances & home entertainments today,that brings obesity today.
Years ago, we were able to go out to the garden and dig a carrot, brush it off & eat it right then and there. You couldn't dare do that today with the amount of chemicals in the soil and water, as well as in the food it was grown in.
Our fruits and vegetables came from our gardens,the farmers markets, or at the farmers food stands along the road fresh from the farms. The taste was far superior than anything on the markets today and nothing was in cans unless we canned it ourselves.
Where has all of this gone? Progress! Farmers had to sell their land to put in Parking garages to accomodate the sky scrapers and other buildings that went up.
We grow under lights now because we may be living on the moon some day and we need to know how to grow these things there. We need to know how to grow things with chemicals and not soil.
I can't remember my folks cooking our foods to a frazzle until their was no juice in the food. Our food had taste to it. Lots of it. We didn't have to cook everything in oil or butter to make it taste good. The food itself was good. And a little time cooking it was all it needed. Everything today that they cook is overdone or cooked in butter and oil to replace the taste from the fat they removed.
We never worried about how much salt, sugar, flour or fat we were getting. We ate pork chops (with the fat) Beef (with fat) lamb, and veal, chicken (dark meat and white) and... we were slim as a rail.
We had the energy to go out and do things, because we didn't have TV's, computers, and hand held phones and games pinned to our ears.
We were out playing soft ball in a vacant lot; that we had to mow down the weeds in order to make our playing field.
We went roller skating, swimming and bowling. We jumped rope with our friends and played hop scotch and rode our bikes everywhere we went.
Give me back those days and I will be far healthier than everyone is today. Guaranteed.
It's my observation that most when considering change in their diet look at it as a life long sentence. In contrast their choices need not be as draconian as they imagine...more so they need to be disciplined. If you allow yourself to endulge in a food you truly enjoy but know is not in your regimine discipline yourself to adjust your intake over the next few days to compensate for what you have added in. Most people fail at their efforts to control their weight because they feel they have had to deny themselves and as such when they remove themselves from their diet bing on what they missed and return to their former self. Understanding that the change in attitude and approach to managing your food intake needs to be a lifestyle not a life sentence enhances the possibilite for success and enjoyment of your new food discipline
"super sizing" our meals causes super sized bodies.
All the snacking also addes pounds.
Back to the basics eating and more physical work will slim America. Did we have obese farmers? I think not.
I think fast food advertising on television should be banned. You can't enjoy a program on any channel without being bombarded with food ads every few minutes, so it keeps the subject of food constantly on your mind unless you leave the room during commercials. It's especially bad between 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
everyone has to walk the walk, its hard; no time, so many excuses, we've gotten lazy which then led to the phat,everyone's guilty
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