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Obesity in the U.S. |
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Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial chronic disease involving
environmental (social and cultural), genetic, physiologic, metabolic, behavioral and psychological components. It is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Overweight and obesity are part of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services' health agenda that have steadily moved away from their established targets for improvement.
Today, public health leaders recognize obesity as a "neglected public health problem." This fact sheet will demonstrate the
impact of overweight and obesity on millions of Americans of all ages and both genders.
Overall Prevalence
- Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese.
- Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measurement tool used to determine excess body weight. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25 or more, obesity is 30 or more, and severe obesity is 40 or more.
- Read the AOA fact sheet,What is Obesity? for more information about BMI and
to calculate BMI.
- The number of adults who are overweight or obese has continued to increase, as shown in Table 1. Currently, 64.5 percent of U.S. adults, age 20 years and older, are overweight and 30.5 percent are obese. Severe obesity prevalence is now 4.7 percent, up from 2.9 percent reported in the 1988 - 1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Increase in Prevalence (%) of Overweight (BMI > 25),
Obesity (BMI > 30) and Severe Obesity (BMI > 40) Among U.S. Adults.
|
|
Overweight
(BMI > 25) |
Obesity
(BMI > 30) |
Severe Obesity
(BMI > 40) |
| 1999 to 2000 |
64.5 |
30.5 |
4.7 |
| 1988 to 1994 |
56.0 |
23.0 |
2.9 |
| 1976 to 1980 |
46.0 |
14.4 |
No Data |
| Source:
CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health, United States, 2002. Flegal et. al. JAMA. 2002;288:1723-7. NIH, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, 1998.
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Health and Social Impact
- Obesity increases the risk of illness from about 30 serious medical conditions.
- Obesity is associated with increases in deaths from all-causes.
- Earlier onset of obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, are being reported in children and adolescents
with obesity.
- Individuals with obesity are at higher risk for impaired mobility.
- Overweight or obese individuals experience social stigmatization and discrimination in employment and academic situations.
Age
Gender
- The prevalence of overweight is higher for men (67 percent)
than women (62 percent).
- The prevalence of obesity is higher for women (34 percent)
than men (27.7 percent) as is severe obesity; women (6.3 percent) and men (3.1 percent).
- The increase in overweight, obesity and severe obesity prevalence is evident in adults (aged 20 to 74) of both genders over the last decade, as shown in Table 4.
Table 4
|
Men
Prevalence (%) |
Women
Prevalence (%) |
|
1988
to 1994 |
1999
to 2000 |
1988
to 1994 |
1999
to 2000 |
Overweight
(BMI > 25) |
61
|
67
|
51.2
|
62 |
Obesity
(BMI > 30) |
20.6
|
27.7 |
26
|
34 |
Severe Obesity
(BMI > 40) |
1.7 |
3.1
|
4 |
6.3 |
| Source:
CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health, United States (Table 70) 2002.
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Education Levels
- Obesity prevalence has increased across all education
levels, and is higher for persons with less education as
shown in Table 5.
Table 5
| Education Level |
1991 Obesity Prevalence (%) |
1998 Obesity Prevalence (%) |
2000 Obesity Prevalence (%) |
2001 Obesity Prevalence (%) |
| Less than High School |
16.5 |
24.1 |
26.1 |
27.4 |
| High School |
13.3 |
19.4 |
21.7 |
23.2 |
| Some College |
10.6 |
17.8 |
19.5 |
21.0 |
| College |
8.0 |
13.1 |
15.2 |
15.7 |
| Source:
CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1991-2001.
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Geographic Distribution
-
Obesity
prevalence has increased in all regions of the U.S. as
displayed in Table 6.
Table 6
Percentage of Adults with Obesity in the US by Region
| Region
of the U.S. |
1991(%) |
1998(%) |
2000(%)
|
New
England
(Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) |
9.9 |
11.4 |
16.95 |
Middle
Atlantic
(New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) |
12.7 |
16.7 |
18.41 |
East North Central
(Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin) |
14.1 |
19.1 |
21.0 |
West
North Central
(Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota,
Nebraska, South Dakota) |
12.2 |
18.0 |
19.82 |
South
Atlantic
(District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia) |
11.1 |
18.6 |
19.52 |
East
South Central
(Alabama,
Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee) |
13.1 |
20.0 |
23.05 |
West
South Central
(Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas) |
13.1 |
20.0 |
22.2 |
Mountain
(Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana,
New Mexico,
Utah, Wyoming) |
9.6 |
14.1 |
17.1 |
Pacific
(Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) |
10.2 |
17.0 |
19.1 |
| Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1991 - 2000. |
-
Obesity
prevalence has increased in most states over the last decade, as
displayed in Table 7.
Table 7
Percentage of Adults with Obesity in the U.S. by State
| U.S. States |
1991 (%) |
1998 (%) |
2000 (%) |
2001 (%)
|
| Alabama |
13.2 |
20.7 |
23.5 |
23.4 |
| Alaska |
13.1 |
20.7 |
20.5 |
21.0 |
| Arizona |
11.0 |
12.7 |
18.8 |
17.9 |
| Arkansas |
12.7 |
19.2 |
22.6 |
21.7 |
| California |
10.0 |
16.8 |
19.2 |
20.9 |
| Colorado |
8.4 |
14.0 |
13.8 |
14.4 |
|
Connecticut |
10.9 |
14.7 |
16.9 |
17.3 |
| Delaware |
14.9 |
16.6 |
16.2 |
20.0 |
| District of Columbia |
15.2 |
19.9 |
21.2 |
19.9 |
| Florida |
10.1 |
17.4 |
18.1 |
18.4 |
| Georgia |
9.2 |
18.7 |
20.9 |
22.1 |
| Hawaii |
10.4 |
15.3 |
15.1 |
17.6 |
| Idaho |
11.7 |
16.0 |
18.4 |
20.0 |
| Illinois |
12.7 |
17.9 |
20.9 |
20.5 |
| Indiana |
14.8 |
19.5 |
21.3 |
24.0 |
| Iowa |
14.4 |
19.3 |
20.8 |
21.8 |
| Kansas |
No data |
17.3 |
20.1 |
21.0 |
| Kentucky |
12.7 |
19.9 |
22.3 |
24.2 |
| Louisiana |
15.7 |
21.3 |
22.8 |
23.3 |
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Maine
|
12.1 |
17.0 |
19.7 |
19.0 |
| Maryland |
11.2 |
19.8 |
19.5 |
19.8 |
| Massachusetts |
8.8 |
13.8 |
16.4 |
16.1 |
| Michigan |
15.2 |
20.7 |
21.8 |
24.4 |
| Minnesota |
10.6 |
15.7 |
16.8 |
19.2 |
| Mississippi |
15.7 |
22.0 |
24.3 |
25.9 |
| Missouri |
12.0 |
19.8 |
21.6 |
22.5 |
| Montana |
9.5 |
14.7 |
15.2 |
18.2 |
| Nebraska |
12.5 |
17.5 |
20.6 |
20.1 |
| Nevada |
No data |
13.4 |
17.2 |
19.1 |
|
New Hampshire |
10.4 |
14.7 |
17.1 |
19.0 |
| New Jersey |
9.7 |
15.2 |
17.6 |
19.0 |
| New Mexico |
7.8 |
14.7 |
18.8 |
18.8 |
| New York |
12.8 |
15.9 |
17.2 |
19.7 |
| North Carolina |
13.0 |
19.0 |
21.3 |
22.4 |
| North Dakota |
12.9 |
18.7 |
19.8 |
19.9 |
| Ohio |
14.9 |
19.5 |
21.0 |
21.8 |
| Oklahoma |
11.9 |
18.7 |
19.0 |
22.1 |
| Oregon |
11.2 |
17.8 |
21.0 |
20.7 |
| Pennsylvania |
14.4 |
19.0 |
20.7 |
21.4 |
| Rhode Island |
9.1 |
16.2 |
16.8 |
17.3 |
| South Carolina |
13.8 |
20.2 |
21.5 |
21.7 |
| South Dakota |
12.8 |
15.4 |
19.2 |
20.6 |
| Tennessee |
12.1 |
18.5 |
22.7 |
22.6 |
| Texas |
12.7 |
19.9 |
22.7 |
23.8 |
| Utah |
9.7 |
15.3 |
18.5 |
18.4 |
| Vermont |
10.0 |
14.4 |
17.7 |
17.1 |
| Virginia |
10.1 |
18.2 |
17.5 |
20.0 |
| Washington |
9.9 |
17.6 |
18.5 |
18.9 |
| West Virginia |
15.2 |
22.9 |
22.8 |
24.6 |
| Wisconsin |
12.7 |
17.9 |
19.4 |
21.9 |
| Wyoming |
No data |
14.5 |
17.6 |
19.2 |
| Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 1991 - 2001. |
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