Update on Obesity in America

September 10th, 2014 by Julie Ferguson

Trust for America’s Health and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently released The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, a 136 page report that can be downloaded in PDF.
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This is the most recent in a series of updates on the topic of obesity, and while the report is guardedly more optimistic about the nation’s obesity rate — “there is increasing evidence that obesity rates are stabilizing for adults and children” — the overall situation is still plenty bleak. Here are some highlights:

  • Adult obesity rates rose in Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wyoming
  • More than a third of adults (34.9 percent) were obese as of 2011 to 2012.
  • More than two-thirds of adults were overweight or obese (68.5 percent).
  • Over the past 35 years, obesity rates have more than doubled. From 2009 to 2010 to 2011 to 2012, rates remained the same. The average American is more than 24 pounds heavier today than in 1960.
  • Two states have adult obesity rates above 35 percent (Mississippi and West Virginia), 20 states have rates at or above 30 percent, 42 states have rates above 25 percent and every state is above 20 percent. In 1980, no state was above 15 percent; in 1991, no state was above 20 percent; in 2000, no state was above 25 percent; and, in 2007, only Mississippi was above 30 percent.
  • The 10 states with the highest rates of type 2 diabetes are all in the South. Alabama had the highest rate at 13.8 percent.

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Related medical conditions
The report also discusses obesity’s link with other serious, life-limiting illnesses. Here’s a sampling:

  • Diabetes rates have nearly doubled in the past 20 years — from 5.5 percent in 1988 to 1994 to 9.3 percent in 2005 to 2010.
  • More than 25 million American adults have diabetes and another 79 million have prediabetes. The CDC projects that one-in-three adults could have diabetes by 2050.
  • One in four Americans has some form of cardiovascular disease.
  • One in three adults has high blood pressure, a leading cause of stroke.
  • Approximately 30 percent of cases of hypertension may be attributable to obesity, and the figure may be as high as 60 percent in men under age 45.
  • People who are overweight are more likely to have high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats and high LDL (bad cholesterol), which are all risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

The report contains significant detail about adult demographics and a special focus on childhood obesity rates, recommendations and policy initiatives.
Obesity and the Work Comp Nexus
How does obesity affect workers’ comp? Here are a variety of studies, reports and news related to workers compensation and obesity – from our own pages and from other sources. .
Weighing the Obesity Factor in Workers’ Compensation
The Influences of Obesity and Age on Functional Performance During Intermittent Upper Extremity Tasks
New Study Shows Significant Health Risks for Long-haul Drivers
AMA declares obesity a disease
Comorbidities in Workers Compensation, NCCI 2012
Indemnity Benefit Duration and Obesity, NCCI 2012
Safety 2012: Ergonomic Strategies for Managing Obesity in the Workplace
Plump my workforce: new studies document obesity-related work costs
The Not-So-Hidden Cost of Obesity
New York Weighs In on Obesity
Compensable weight loss surgery? A new wrinkle in obesity
The effect of obesity and other comorbidities on workers comp
Weighty matters: the high cost of obesity in the workplace
Obesity in Workers Comp: Duke Sounds the Alarm

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