AMERICA: THE UNITED STATE OF OBESITY

“Three-Quarters of U.S. Adults Are Now Overweight or Obese”

??? The New York Times, 8 days ago

Two new studies are highlighting a dark picture of the obesity epidemic in the United States: one shows the number of obesity-related deaths is on the rise and the other projects a continued increase in the number of Americans who have overweight or obesity.

The US Obesity Epidemic continues to skyrocket with no end in sight.

The prevalence of obesity and overweight is extraordinarily high. Unsurprisingly, deaths related to obesity are on the rise, too."

By??Michael O’Riordan, Nov 2024

In the?Lancet, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study collaboration found that more than 170 million adults 25 years and older, as well as 15 million children and young adolescents (aged 5 to 14 years) and 21 million older adolescents (15 to 24 years), have overweight or obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater than?25 kg/m2.

“The current prevalence of overweight and obesity in the US are extraordinarily high and rising, presenting a significant public health concern,” GBD study investigator Xiaochen Dai, PhD (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Seattle, WA), told TCTMD in an email. “Forecasts to 2050 highlight an even more concerning trend.”

In 25 years, it’s estimated that nearly 213 million adults and 43 million children and adolescents will have overweight or obesity. Put another way, one out of every three children and adolescents, as well as two out of every three adults, will have had a BMI exceeding 25.

“These projections emphasize an urgent need for intervention across all age groups and states, as the expected trajectory could further strain public health systems, exacerbate chronic disease burdens, and drive-up healthcare costs,” said Dai.

“Without significant action, the US obesity epidemic will likely continue to escalate with broad, systemic health impacts.”

??? Xiaochen Dai

In the second study, which is scheduled for presentation this weekend at the American Heart Association 2024 Scientific Sessions in Chicago, IL, Aleenah Mohsin, MD (Brown University, Providence, RI), and colleagues showed that the number of heart disease deaths related to obesity also is increasing. Between 1999 and 2020, the age-adjusted obesity-related death rate increased from 2.1 to 7.2 deaths per 100,000, an increase of more than 240%.

Two in Three Overweight/Obese by 2050

To TCTMD, Dai said the GBD collaboration addresses a critical public issue, noting that the US has one of the highest rates of overweight and obesity, which leads to worse health outcomes over time. Despite its high-income status, the US lags behind other countries in life and healthy life expectancy, partly due to the obesity epidemic. There is also a massive economic cost to the crisis, with direct healthcare costs related to obesity estimated to be as high as $480 billion dollars in 2016, he said.

“Americans need to hear a hard truth: they are eating themselves to death. Only they can restore their bodies to their proper shape and function.”

??? Heather McDonald

Images from Stable Diffusion Online