Obesity Related Statistics in America
Did you know?
- Obesity is the #2 cause of preventable death in the United States
- 60 million Americans, 20 years and older are obese
- 9 million children and teens ages 6-19 are overweight
- Being overweight or obese increases the risk of health conditions and diseases including: Breast cancer, Coronary heart disease, Type II diabetes, Sleep apnea, Gallbladder disease, Osteoarthritis, Colon cancer, Hypertension and Stroke
Decrease Childhood Obesity
Increase Public Awareness about the importance of healthy lifestyles.
Obesity in Youth - Diabetes, hypertension and other obesity-related chronic diseases that are prevalent among adults have now become more common in youngsters. The percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese is now higher than ever before. Poor dietary habits and inactivity are reported to contribute to the increase of obesity in youth.
Today's youth are considered the most inactive generation in history caused in part by reductions in school physical education programs and unavailable or unsafe community recreational facilities.
- Overweight prevalence is higher in boys (32.7 percent) than girls (27.8 percent). In adolescents, overweight prevalence is about the same for females (30.2 percent) and males (30.5 percent).
- The prevalence of obesity quadrupled over 25 years among boys and girls
USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions
• 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese;
3 Million morbidly Obese
• Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight
• 78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations
• 25% completely Sedentary
• 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 since 1990
Obesity Related Diseases
• 80% of type II diabetes related to obesity
• 70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity
• 42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals
• 30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity
• 26% of obese people having high blood pressure
Obesity Related Disease Costs Overwhelm HealthCare System
• Type II Diabetes ($63.14 Billion)
• Osteoporosis ($17.2 Billion)
• Hypertension ($3.23 Billion)
• Heart Disease ($6.99 Billion)
• Post-menopausal breast cancer ($2.32 Billion)
• Colon Cancer ($2.78 Billion)
• Endometrial Cancer ($790 Million)
Cost of Lost Productivity
• Workdays lost: $39.3 Million
• Physician office visits: $62.7 Million
• Restricted Activity days: $29.9 Million
• Bed-Related days: $89.5 Million
Childhood Obesity Running Out of Control
• 4% overweight 1982 | 16% overweight 1994
• 25% of all white children overweight 2001
• 33% African American and Hispanic children overweight 2001
• Hospital costs associated with childhood obesity rising from $35 Million (1979) to $127 Million (1999)
Childhood Obesity Running Out of Control
• New study suggests one in four overweight children is already showing early signs of type II diabetes (impaired glucose intolerance)
• 60% already have one risk factor for heart disease
Surge in Childhood Diabetes
• Between 8% - 45% of newly diagnosed cases of childhood diabetes are type II, associated with obesity.
• Whereas 4% of Childhood diabetes was type II in 1990, that number has risen to approximately 20%
• Depending on the age group (Type II most frequent 10-19 group) and the racial/ethnic mix of group stated
• Of Children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese
Economic Consequences of Obesity in America
Overweight and obesity and their associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system (USDHHS, 2001). Medical costs associated with overweight and obesity may involve direct and indirect costs (Wolf and Colditz, 1998; Wolf, 1998). Direct medical costs may include preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services related to obesity. Indirect costs relate to morbidity and mortality costs. Morbidity costs are defined as the value of income lost from decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism, and bed days. Mortality costs are the value of future income lost by premature death.
National Estimates Costs of Obesity
According to a study of national costs attributed to both overweight (BMI 25–29.9) and obesity (BMI greater than 30), medical expenses accounted for 9.1 percent of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and may have reached as high as $78.5 billion ($92.6 billion in 2002 dollars) (Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang, 2003). Approximately half of these costs were paid by Medicaid and Medicare. The primary data sets used to develop the spending estimates for this study included the 1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the 1996 and 1997 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS). The data also included information about each person’s health insurance status and sociodemographic characteristics.
State Costs of Obesity
A more recent study focused on state-level estimates of total, Medicare and Medicaid obesity attributable medical expenditures (Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang, 2004). Researchers used the 1998 MEPS linked to the 1996 and 1997 NHIS, and three years of data (1998–2000) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to predict annual state-level estimates of medical expenditures attributable to obesity (BMI greater than 30).
State-level estimates range from $87 million (Wyoming) to $7.7 billion (California). Obesity-attributable Medicare estimates range from $15 million (Wyoming) to $1.7 billion (California), and obesity-attributable Medicaid expenditures range from $23 million (Wyoming) to $3.5 billion (New York). The state differences in obesity-attributable expenditures are partly driven by the differences in the size of each state’s population.
These state-level estimates can assist state policy makers to determine how best to allocate public health resources and provide information concerning the economic impact of obesity in a state. However, these estimates should not be used to make comparisons across states, or between payers within states. In addition, these state-estimated data are limited to direct medical costs, as defined above, and not indirect costs (example: absenteeism and decreased productivity) attributed to obesity.
Why do statistics about obesity in America differ from various organizations and institutions?
The definitions or measurement characteristics for overweight and obesity have varied over time, from study to study, and from one part of the world to another. The varied definitions affect prevalence statistics and make it difficult to compare data from different studies. Prevalence refers to the total number of existing cases of a disease or condition in a given population at a given time. Some overweight- and obesity-related prevalence rates are presented as crude or unadjusted estimates, while others are age-adjusted estimates. Unadjusted prevalence estimates are used to present cross-sectional data for population groups at a given point or time period, without accounting for the effect of different age variations among groups. For age-adjusted rates, statistical procedures are used to remove the effect of age differences when comparing two or more populations at one point in time, or one population at two or more points in time. Unadjusted estimates and age-adjusted estimates will yield slightly different values.
Obesity Prevalence Among Low-Income, Preschool-Aged Children 1998–2008
One of 7 low-income, preschool-aged children is obese, but the obesity epidemic may be stabilizing. The prevalence of obesity in low-income two to four year-olds increased from 12.4 percent in 1998 to 14.5 percent in 2003 but rose to only 14.6 percent in 2008.
American Indians and Alaska Natives are the only race or ethnic groups with increasing rates between 2003 and 2008. Obesity prevalence among these children continued to rise about a half percentage point each year from 2003 to 2008.
In 2008, obesity prevalence was highest among American Indian or Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic (18.5 percent) children, and lowest among white (12.6 percent), Asian or Pacific Islander (12.3 percent), and black (11.8 percent) children.
In 2008, only Colorado and Hawaii reported 10 percent or less of low-income preschool-age children were obese. The only gruop with rates over 20 percent were Indian Tribal Organizations.
For this study analysis, CDC analyzed the 1998−2008 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) data. The study defined obesity as a body mass index-for-age at or above the 95th percentile based on the 2000 sex-specific growth charts.
References: National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK),WebMD.com, Center for Disease Control.