Obesity Is More Common Than One May Expect

As we all probably know, obesity is a very large problem in America. Over 70% of all adults in America are overweight or obese and about 33% of children in America are overweight or obese. This means that over 70% of adults in America have a higher blood cholesterol, increased blood pressure, have a higher

The fact about obesity in the United States is that it is one of the highest in the world, and has been on the increase since the late 1990s.As of 2007, about 74% of all the adults were either obese or overweight .The problem of obesity comes with high financial costs to the United

Since the 1980’s obesity rates have soared. Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled between adults and children. Twelve years later in 2012, the Center of Disease Control and Prevention estimated more than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Being overweight is defined as having excess body weight from a combination of height, fat, and muscle. On the other hand, Obesity is simply having too much excess body fat. Being overweight and obese are the result of caloric imbalance. Society tends to consume more calories than calories expended. Obesity can lead to more serious medical issues such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and even cancer. I believe that there are many causes of obesity, but there are just as much solutions for a healthier life.

In 2013-2014 37.7% of adults 20 years of age and older in the U.S were obese. Among racial ethnic groups white Non -Hispanics had the lowest rate of obesity at 36.4%. Black and Hispanics populations had rates of 48.4% and 42.6% nationally. The rate for Black non- Hispanic groups were 1.5 times higher than the rate for white non- Hispanic groups.("Healthy People 2020," 2014, p. 3).

Obesity in the United States continues growing alarmingly. Approximately 66 % of adults and 33 % of children and teenagers in the US are overweight. Obesity is the result of fat accumulated over time due to the lack of a balanced diet and exercise. An adult with a BMI (body mass index) higher than thirty percent is considered obese (Whitney & Rolfes, 2011, pg. 271).

Over the years obesity has become more and more prevalent in the United States. Currently, approximately 35% of Americans are obese. The Center for Disease Control statistics on obesity are alarming. They have reported the obesity rate to be higher in Non-Hispanic blacks than Hispanics. 47% to 42%, while 32.6% of Non-Hispanic whites are obese. In addition to ethnicity, the CDC looked at obesity among age groups. Obesity was found to be higher among middle-aged adults 40-59, rather than younger adults age 20-39. As far as socio-economic groups were considered, Non-Hispanic black and Mexican American men with higher incomes are more likely to be obese than those with low income. When genders were factored in, the opposite was found. Non-Hispanic

Obesity has been a problem in America for multiple years. Obesity rates in the United States are going to increase 37% in the next twenty-five years (Pomeranz 2009). According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 68.8% of adults are overweight or obese, one in every 20 people or 6.3% of adults have extreme obesity and 3 in every 4 males or 74% of males are obese (Overweight and Obesity 2009). Once someone comes to the realization that they are obese, it can be hard to turn their life around and lose some of that weight that is making them obese. Obesity can be the cause of multiple health related issues that Americans face. For example, obesity can cause type two diabetes, cardio metabolic disease,

Affecting over 36% of the population, obesity is a rising epidemic within the United States. An estimated 75% of adults over the age of twenty are classified as overweight or obese (Kolata, 2016). The disease affects women more significantly than men, with a greater prevalence within African American and Hispanic ethnic groups. Extreme obesity (BMI >40), affects six percent, and growing, of the American populace. This rise in obesity correlates not lonely with a lower life expectancy but also a rise in numerous other non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, pulmonary ailments, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health issues. Although the obesity epidemic is seen mostly within developed countries, such as the United States, the non-communicable disease is showing advancing prevalence and incidence rates worldwide, including low and middle income countries. The World Health Organization estimates one billion people are classified as overweight or obese (Kapil, 2016). In addition to the plethora of additional health care problems, obese patients are often hard to treat as the health care system does not yet have the equipment to detect, measure, or treat possible underlying problems. The treatment of obesity and related conditions is currently estimated to reach $100 billion within the United States (Kapil, 2016). Accounting for more than 100,000 premature deaths each year, the disease is the second highest noncommunicable and preventable disease

children in america are overweight also more than one -third(34.9% or 78 million of U.S adults are obese.Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (47.8%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (32.6%), and non-Hispanic Asians (10.8%). Obesity is higher among middle age adults, 40-59 years old (39.5%) than among younger adults, age 20-39 (30.3%) or adults over 60 or above (35.4%) adults.The estimated medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 dollars, the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than the normal weight people.

According to the Center for Disease Control Obesity affects approximately one third of the United States’ adult population. Every state has an obesity rate of at least 15% and nine states in the United Stated have rates over 30% (CDC, 2010). Obesity affects some demographics more than others with Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans experiencing higher rates of obesity than their white counterparts. The rate of obesity in the US has been rising “from 13.4% in 1980 to 34.3% in 2008 among adults and from 5% to 17% among children during the same period.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Being obese carries severe health and financial burdens. People classified as overweight (having a BMI between 25 and 29.9) or obese (having a BMI of 30 or higher) have increased risk of developing heart disease, type 2 Diabetes, liver disease, stroke, certain types of cancers, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, hypertension, abnormal menstrual cycles, Dyslipidemia and infertility (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Medical spending for those who are obese is on average $1,429 per year higher than individuals of a healthy height. As Finkelstein explained in his 2009 study, “the connection between rising rates of obesity and rising medical spending is undeniable.” (Finkelstein, 2009, p. 831?)

Throughout years the obesity rates have increased. Over the past 35 years, obesity rates have more than doubled. More than a one-third of adults (34.9%) were obese as of 2011 to 2012. More than two-thirds of adults (68.6%) are overweight or obese now. If the rates have more than doubled now, then they will continue to raise until people make better decisions to not eat high calorie foods and exercise. Obesity rates are highest among Black adults (47.8%), followed by Latino (42.5%) and White adults (32.6%), and lowest among Asian American adults (10.8%)..

Nationally, 37.9 percent of Americans adults were obese in 2013-2014. Obesity started increasing dramatically between 2003-2004 and 2011- 2012. Obesity rates have tripled since CDC (Centers for Disease Control) first began tracking them in 1960, and ever since 1980s they have doubled (Obesity Rates & Trends Overview P8). American women obesity rates (40.4 percent) are much higher than men (35.0 percent). Back in 2011-2014 middle aged Americans ages 40-59 had the highest rates of obesity compared to any other age group (41.0 percent) after them it was senior citizens ages 60 and older with the rate of 38.5 percent and then at the very end young adults ages 20-39 with the rate of 34.3 (Obesity Rates & Trends Overview

Obesity is a major public health issue. Obesity contributes to an estimated 112,000 preventable deaths a year. Obese adults are at increased risk for many bad health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and respiratory problems, also endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Children with high body mass index which means obesity or unhealthy eating, are more likely than those with a normal BMI to have insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and unhealthy levels of fats and other problems. Obese children often become obese adults,

Recent data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has revealed more than one third of Americans are obese, this condition is associated to preventable diseases such as heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, this situation leads to an estimated annual health cost around $ 147 billion, thousands more than medical cost for normal weight patients (Adult Obesity Facts, 2014).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “[more] than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer… The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight,” (“Adult Obesity,” 2016).