Month: June 2021

Clifford Thornton

A New Approach to Tackling America’s Weight Problem: Making America Stronger and Improving Lives

By Clifford Thornton-Ramos

I invite all to read this important article about the ever growing weight problem and obesity crisis in the United States. Obesity has been classified as a disease by the American Medical Association (AMA). Also, Obesity has been called “The New Smoking” because of its link with various types of cancers.

I’ve provided key statistics, expert commentary, and my own perspectives on overweightedness and obesity in the United States, focusing on the following matters:

  • Widely accepted indicators and metrics
  • Prevalence in the U.S. (for adults and children)
  • National economic cost / economic losses and related drivers
  • Causes
  • Clinical consequences and adverse outcomes
  • National defense implications (U.S. military recruitment pool)
  • Proposed solutions (employers, government, individual, etc.)

This problem affects us all in some shape or form, which is what primarily drove me to investigate and write on this issue. My goal for this article is to raise awareness, encourage others to be proponents and champions for this issue, and to ignite meaningful discussion around real and practical solutions. Thank you!

Please feel free to download and view the article in Adobe PDF format here:

a_new_approach_to_tacking_americas_weight_problem_06-01-2021_v9Download

AN OVERVIEW OF KEY RELATED STATISTICS:

“1. More than one-third of adults in the United States are obese.
In the United States, 36.5 percent of adults are obese. Another 32.5 percent of American adults are overweight. In all, more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese.

  1. Obesity affects 1 in 6 children in the United States.
    Around 17 percent of American children ages 2 to 19 are obese. That’s more than 12.7 million American children. One in 8 preschoolers is obese. The good news is obesity rates among preschool children have been falling in recent years.”
    According to MedPage:
    “Over 73% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.”
    This means that only 27% of U.S. adults fall within a healthy, normal weight range.
    And According to the CDC:
    Adults
    • Percent of adults aged 20 and over with obesity: 42.5% (2017-2018)
    • Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 73.6% (2017-2018)
    Children and adolescents
    • Percent of adolescents aged 12-19 years with obesity: 21.2% (2017-2018)
    • Percent of children aged 6-11 years with obesity: 20.3% (2017-2018)
    • Percent of children aged 2-5 years with obesity: 13.4% (2017-2018)
    According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington:
    “The highest proportion of overweight and obese people – 13% of the global total – live in the United States, a country which accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of trend data from 188 countries.”
    “An estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Nearly three-quarters of American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight. These are also major challenges for America’s children – nearly 30% of boys and girls under age 20 are either obese or overweight, up from 19% in 1980.”
    Obesity is a common, serious, and costly disease
    • “The prevalence of obesity was 42.4% in 2017~2018.
    • From 1999–2000 through 2017–2018, the prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.
    • Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death.
    • The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was $147 billion in 2008 US dollars; the medical cost for people who have obesity was $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.”
    Childhood Obesity Facts & Prevalence in the United States
    “Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States, putting children and adolescents at risk for poor health. Obesity prevalence among children and adolescents is still too high.
    For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years in 2017-2018:
    • The prevalence of obesity was 19.3% and affected about 14.4 million children and adolescents.
    • Obesity prevalence was 13.4% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 20.3% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 21.2% among 12- to 19-year-olds. Childhood obesity is also more common among certain populations.
    • Obesity prevalence was 25.6% among Hispanic children, 24.2% among non-Hispanic Black children, 16.1% among non-Hispanic White children, and 8.7% among non-Hispanic Asian children.”