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Some
facts from the American Obesity Association and the American Society
of Bariatric Physicians:
- 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.
- 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). Overweight and obesity
increases steadily with age for both men and women.
- At a minimum, half
of all age groups are overweight and at least 20 percent obese.
- The age group with
the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity among men is
65 to 74 years, and among women, 55 to 64 years.
- Physical
inactivity (a 1996 US Surgeon General’s report on fitness says that
nearly half of young people ages 12 to 21 are not vigorously
active), “junk” food diets (including high calorie
soft drinks and fruit beverages), increased television watching
accompanied by snacking, increased time playing video and computer
games all contribute to increased obesity among the young.
- Maintaining weight
loss over the long term is exceedingly difficult. Most people
regain as much as two-thirds of weight lost within one year and
regain all of it within five years.
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