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Obesity
continued to increase dramatically during the late 1990's
for Americans of all ages, with nearly one-third
of all adults now classified as obese, according
to new data from the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey published today in the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
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The data show that 31 percent of adults
20 years of age and over -- nearly 59 million people
-- have a Body Mass Index (BMI)
of 30 or greater, compared to 23 percent in 1994, according
to the data collected and analyzed by the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of HHS' Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Meanwhile, the percentage of children
who are overweight (defined as BMI-for-age at or above
the 95th percentile of the CDC Growth Charts) also continues
to increase. Among children and teens ages 6 to 19,
15 percent (almost 9 million) are overweight according
to the 1999-2000 data, or triple what the proportion
was in 1980.
"The problem keeps getting worse," said
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. "We've seen virtually
a doubling in the number of obese persons over the past
two decades and this has profound health implications.
Obesity increases a person's risk for a number of serious
conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke,
high blood pressure and some types of cancer."
The findings show more adult women are
obese (33 percent) than men (28 percent), with the problem
greatest among non-Hispanic black women (50 percent)
compared to Mexican-American women (40 percent) and
non-Hispanic white women (30 percent). There was practically
no difference in obesity levels among men based on race/ethnicity.
In addition, over 10 percent of younger
pre-school-aged children between ages 2 and 5 are overweight,
up from 7 percent in 1994.
"One of the most significant concerns
from a public health perspective is that we know a lot
of children who are overweight grow up to be overweight
or obese adults, and thus at greater risk for some major
health problems such as heart disease and diabetes,"
said CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding. "One critical
answer to this problem is that we all must work together
to help our children make physical activity a life-long
habit."
The data on children also shows:
** Non-Hispanic black and Mexican-American
adolescents ages 12-19 were more likely to be overweight
(24 percent) than non-Hispanic white adolescents (13
percent).
** Mexican-American children ages
6-11 were more likely to be overweight (24 percent)
than non-Hispanic black children (20 percent) and
non-Hispanic white children (12 percent).
** Pre-school-aged non-Hispanic black
children were less likely (8 percent) than younger
Mexican-American children (11 percent) and non-Hispanic
white children (10 percent) to be overweight.
In addition, the data show that another
15 percent of children and teens ages 6 to 19 are considered
at risk of becoming overweight (a BMI-for-age from the
85th to the 95th percentile).
More information on the study is available
on the CDC/NCHS
Web site.
Note:
The BMI is a single number that evaluates an individual's
weight status in relation to height. BMI is generally
used as the first indicator in assessing body fat and
has been the most common method of tracking weight problems
and obesity among adults. BMI is a mathematical formula
in which a person's body weight in kilograms is divided
by the square of his or her height in meters (i.e.,
wt/(ht)2. The BMI is more highly correlated with body
fat than any other indicator of height and weight. The
criteria for obesity is the same for both men and women.
Someone who is 5'7" is obese at 192 pounds and a person
who is 5'11" is obese at 215 pounds. More on this at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/index.htm
Note: All HHS press releases,
fact sheets and other press materials are available
at www.hhs.gov/news.
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