Government statistics show no U.S. decline
June 16, 2004
BY TARA BURGHART
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO -- Despite the sounding of the alarm in recent years, the latest government figures show no decline in the U.S. obesity rate, with 31 percent of adults and 17 percent of youngsters seriously overweight.
The measurements, taken over two years starting in 2001, are about equal to the 1999-2000 figures. In late 2001, then-Surgeon General David Satcher warned of the dangers of obesity.
The latest estimates were based on body measurements of 4,390 adults and 4,258 children. The survey, conducted regularly since 1960, is considered more reliable than studies in which participants report their own girth, because people consistently underestimate their weight.
The findings appear today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"The level of obese and overweight Americans remains at alarming levels," said Allison Hedley, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who led the study.
Before 1999, the results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were released in large chunks -- such as 1988-94. But because obesity has become such a national concern, the data are being released every two years.
The survey found that obesity rates in several categories in 1999-2000 and 2001-02 rose slightly, but in a statistically insignificant way. Because the time span is small, it would be wrong to conclude that obesity is leveling off, Hedley said.
Obesity is defined as having a body-mass index of 30 or more; overweight is classified as having a BMI of 25 to 29.9. The index is a measure of weight relative to height; BMI is calculated by multiplying weight (in pounds) by 705 and dividing the result by height (in inches) twice.
Patrick O'Neil, director of the weight management center at the Medical University of South Carolina, said he was most bothered by the numbers of overweight children.
The study found that 31.5 percent of children ages 6 through 19 were overweight in 2001-02, and 16.5 percent were obese.
"We're producing a new generation that's even more vulnerable to obesity and all of its health consequences by virtue of the fact they're starting out more overweight than previous generations," O'Neil said.