Copyright � 2004, Dow Jones Newswires
CHICAGO (AP)--Despite the sounding of alarms in recent years, the latest government figures show no decline in the U.S. obesity rate, with 31% of adults and 17% 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 about 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 in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
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 between 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 rose slightly, but in a statistically insignificant way.
Obesity is defined as having a body-mass index of 30 or above. The index is a measure of weight relative to height.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires