Not just fat, super fat

Americans are getting fatter. Not only that there are more of us. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) this week released its biennial report on obesity in America and news reports are everywhere discussing what the impact will be of an “expanding” population. It’s really grim.

The survey was based on telephone interviews with 400,000 individuals. Each was asked questions about height and weight in order to determine the body mass index or BMI. Person with a BMI over 30 or more are considered obese.

In 2000, no state had more than 30% obesity factor in their population. By 2009, we are now up to nine states with 30% of its population registering as obese. And everyone is speculating that these numbers are low because even with an anonymous phone call, women will lie about their weight and men likely fudge their height. The obesity factor could be much higher.

A similar report was released yesterday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine where they released findings on the Quality-Adjusted Life Years lost to obesity. From 1993 to 2008 the increase in obesity was 89.9%. The number of obese people almost doubled. This data is a little more reliable coming from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the largest on-going state based health survey of Americans.

Why do we care? This is America, if you want to be fat go for it. Not so fast, health costs related to obesity are huge and with national health care on the horizon, we are all going to pay for someone else’s donut addiction. Total health care costs related to obesity is about $147 billion annually. Diabetes, stress fractures, arthritis, heart disease, joint replacements, asthma, fertility issues, the list could go on and on.

And of course everyone is speculating as to what the future will bring and what if anything can be done to get us to turn from sedentary lifestyles back to breaking a sweat and eating right. No one has an answer and signs aren’t hopeful. People eat poorly in a bad economy, depression leads to inertness, we’re on our computers all day, our children like their video games better than the neighborhood kids. It’s all about speed and convenience and where the nearest drive through window is.

Of course when we have to pay for it, with our health or our money, we learn. But until then what will it take? I’m with others who say we need to slow down. Speed and maximizing time and multi tasking is taking its toll. We need to cook a meal and go for an after dinner walk. And our kids need to learn that not all meals come pre-wrapped.

Source: CDC, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, ScienceDaily