How is obesity related to public health?
Obesity is a grave public health threat, more serious even than the opioid epidemic. It is linked to chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
What was the obesity rate in 2020?
The U.S. adult obesity rate stands at 42.4 percent, the first time the national rate has passed the 40 percent mark, and further evidence of the country’s obesity crisis. The national adult obesity rate has increased by 26 percent since 2008.
Is obesity a public health priority?
Physical activity and overweight/obesity are now designated as priority areas and leading health indicators in the nation’s health objectives, Healthy People 2010, developed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in collaboration with state and territorial health officials and numerous national …
What percentage of the world is obese 2021?
13% of adults in the world are obese. 39% of adults in the world are overweight. One-in-five children and adolescents, globally, are overweight.
How long has obesity been a public health issue?
While researchers say the obesity epidemic began in the U.S. in the 1980s, there has been a sharp increase in obesity rates in the U.S. over the last decade. Nearly 40% of all adults over the age of 20 in the U.S. – about 93.3 million people – are currently obese, according to data published in JAMA in 2018.
When did obesity become a public health issue?
According to the findings, the obesity epidemic spread rapidly during the 1990s across all states, regions, and demographic groups in the United States. Obesity (defined as being over 30 percent above ideal body weight) in the population increased from 12 percent in 1991 to 17.9 percent in 1998.
How has obesity changed over the years?
From 1999–2000 through 2017–2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%. The observed changes in prevalence of obesity and severe obesity between 2015–2016 and 2017–2018 were not significant (Figure 4).
Why is obesity increasing?
The simple explanation for the global rise in obesity is that people are eating more high-calorie, high-fat foods and are less physically active. Highly processed foods — with added sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients — are often cheaper, easier to ship, and have a longer shelf life than fresh foods.
Why public health strategies for obesity should be monitored?
Being overweight or obese increases the risk of life threatening disease, and its costs extend far beyond the public sector affecting individuals, families, communities, the economy and society as a whole.
How much does obesity cost the government?
Obesity-related illness is a major cost to the NHS. In 2014/15 the NHS spent £6.1 billion on treating obesity-related ill health. This is set to rise to £9.7 billion per year by 2050 (Public Health England 2017).
Why is obesity becoming more common?
Globally, there has been: an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars; and. an increase in physical inactivity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.
WHO declared obesity an epidemic?
The global nature of the obesity epidemic was formally recognized by a World Health Organization consultation in 1997 ( 39 ).