In an alarming announcement, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently made public last February 23, 2016 the data on the obesity rates among adults aged 20 and above. It seems that the rising trend of obesity continues unabated with the most recent data showing that 30.6 percent of adults in the US are obese, an all time high, which is higher than the 2014 figure where only 29.9 percent US adults were considered obese.
According to an article by Keith Nunes on FoodBusinessNews, obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or more and the figures came from a National Health Interview Survey which was done between January and September 2015.
Comparing between the different age brackets included in the survey, obesity rates among adults between ages 40-59 were highest. This is followed by adults aged 60 and above while those within the ages of 20 and 39 had the lowest obesity level.
In addition, in the 40-59 age group where obesity is most prevalent, in was seen from available data that it was higher among men than women.
This recent data highlights the overall US obesity problem where obesity-related conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers are the leading causes of preventable deaths according to a CDC-published data. The same CDC article likewise placed a financial price tag on obesity which was estimated at $147 billion annually in 2008 or an average of $1,429 additional medical expense for obese people compared to those with normal weight.
So what actually caused this obesity problem? People always blamed too much food and too little activity but the same can be said to a lot of countries that still have surprisingly manageable obesity levels. Suspecting that other factors could be involved, Alex Herderson writing for Salon.com attempted to deconstruct the problem to find out other contributory factors, which shall be briefly summarized below:
1. Widespread, Increasing Poverty - It may sound counter intuitive at first but healthy food options are markedly expensive compared to the highly processed unhealthy ones.
2. Food deserts - places where it would take you miles before you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables in contrast to the abundance of processed foods and sugary drinks.
3. Omnipresent processed foods - needs no explanation, just look at your grocery aisle and you will have a rough estimate of the ratio between processed and healthy food.
4. Not enough places to walk - most American cities are not pedestrian friendly encouraging people to ride instead of walk.
5. Stress - Americans are one of the most stressed people on earth, which affects metabolism and causes overeating.
These are just a few of the possible reasons Mr. Henderson offered that could explain why America has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. If he is right, it requires more than an individual's will power to overcome this problem then.
