Overweight, Obesity Threaten U.S. Health Gains
Health problems resulting from overweight and obesity could reverse many of the health gains achieved in the U.S. in recent decades. "Overweight and obesity may soon cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking. People tend to think of overweight and obesity as strictly a personal matter, but there is much that communities can and should do to address these problems" according to former Surgeon General David Satcher.
Obesity and overweight are contributing factors to over 20 chronic diseases, including some cancers, arthritis, and even Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
- 300,000 deaths annually associated with obesity and overweight
- $117 billion associated direct and indirect health care costs
- If current trends continue, 75% of Americans will be overweight by 2015
- 1/3 of children and adolescents are overweight or obese
- Less than 1/3 of Americans meet the federal recommendation of 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week
- Physically inactive people are twice as likely as regularly active people to develop coronary heart disease
"Overweight and obesity are among the most pressing new health challenges we face today. Our modern environment has allowed these conditions to increase at alarming rates and become a growing health problem for our nation."- Tommy G. Thompson, secretary of Health and Human Services.
Excerpted from U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Consumer Magazine, March-April 2002
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