By April MacIntyre Jul 20, 2008, 16:41 GMT
The trend for obesity worsens with each CDC report and study that examines the raw data from each of the states, and there is no evidence that a turnaround is coming soon.
This is a 16 year-old boy being tested - Obesity is a worldwide issue, but especially in the United States where th efigures continue to climb...EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL
Americans are getting older, fatter and less healthy. The worst part is their children and grandchildren are starting out fatter and plagued by the ills of obesity too. Even with numerous campaigns and pushes by food conglomerates to create healthier low-fat and lower carbohydrate choices, and limit the sales of junk food and soda in schools, these efforts to encourage all ages of people to lose weight has not shown up in the statistics that monitor where we are on the scales.
Kids now have adult onset Type 2 diabetes and consumers are now given options at home improvement stores to purchase larger toilet seats and commodes to accommodate their expanding rear-ends. Unquestionably the war of fat seems to be more talk than action, and based on the raw data from the CDC; the results seem to be predicated based on one's class, attained education and race.
The number of U.S. adults who are obese increased almost 2 percent between 2005 and 2007, a new CDC report found.
The figures are grim: For 2007, 25.6 percent of adults reported being obese, compared to 23.9 percent in 2005, according to the finding in the July 18 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
"The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in the United States, indicating that we need to step up our efforts at the national, state and local levels," Dr. William Dietz, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, said in a news release.
"We need to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, engage in more physical activity and reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods and sugar-sweetened beverages in order to maintain a healthy weight."
The Deep South takes the cake for the most obese: Those in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee clock in at 30 percent of all residents reported being obese, compared with skinnier, whiter and statistically more educated residents of Colorado, which is the leanest state. Only 18.7 percent are classified obese in Colorado.
The South overall is heavy, with 27 percent of residents classified as obese.
The Midwest, the number was 25.3 percent.
The Northeast, 23.3 percent.
The West, 22.1 percent, according to the CDC report.
As we age, it gets harder to fight the fat: The CDC report shows those 50 to 59 years old, 31.7 percent of men and 30.2 percent of women were obese.
The younger demographic is leaner: Those 19 to 29, 19.1 percent of men and women were obese.
The CDC report breaks it down racially: The numbers down by race/ethnicity and sex, obesity prevalence was highest for non-Hispanic black women (39.0 percent), followed by non-Hispanic black men (32.1 percent).
Education makes a difference. For men, obesity was lowest among college graduates (22.1 percent) and highest among those with some college (29.5 percent) and a high school diploma (29.1 percent).
For women, obesity prevalence was lowest among college graduates (17.9 percent) and jumped dramatically among those with less than a high school diploma (32.6 percent).
None of the states or the District of Columbia has met the "Healthy People 2010" goal of reducing the prevalence of obesity to 15 percent or less, the CDC said.
"Obesity is a major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. These diseases can be very costly for states and the country as a whole," Deb Galuska, associate director for science at the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, said in a news release.
The CDC used its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which collected information on more than 350,000 adults through telephone interviews. The researchers calculated BMIs using information reported by survey participants.
For more on obesity, visit the CDC. LINK
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