In 1991, obese adults made up less than 15 percent of the population in most U.S. states. By 2006, not a single state could claim that distinction, and in 21 states, more than 25 percent of the residents were obese. In fact, in two of those states, at least 30 percent of the residents were obese. The latest research suggests that an estimated 149 million adult Americans weigh more than is healthy. (1, 2) (To see an animated map of the obesity epidemic's growth, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.)
Even more alarming, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is on the rise, and youth are becoming overweight and obese at earlier ages. An estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are considered overweight. (1) Early obesity not only increases the likelihood of adult obesity, (3) it also increases the risk of heart disease in adulthood, (4) as well as the prevalence of weight-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. (5–8)
Overweight is at least partly responsible for the dramatic increase in diagnoses of type 2 diabetes mellitus (formerly called adult–onset diabetes) among children. In the U.S., the nationwide SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study found that type 2 diabetes accounted for only 6 percent of new diabetes cases in non-Hispanic white children ages 10 to 19 years, but anywhere from 22 to 76 percent of new cases in other ethnic groups. (9)
References
1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999–2004. JAMA. 2006; 295:1549–55.
2. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of the Population by Sex and Five-Year Age Groups for the United States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004.
3. McTigue KM, Garrett JM, Popkin BM. The natural history of the development of obesity in a cohort of young U.S. adults between 1981 and 1998. Ann Intern Med. 2002; 136:857–64.
4. Baker JL, Olsen LW, Sorensen TI. Childhood body mass index and the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood. N Engl J Med. 2007; 357:2329–37.
5. Dietz WH. Childhood weight affects adult morbidity and mortality. J Nutr. 1998; 128:411S–414S.
6. Steinberger J, Moran A, Hong CP, Jacobs DR, Jr., Sinaiko AR. Adiposity in childhood predicts obesity and insulin resistance in young adulthood. J Pediatr. 2001; 138:469–73.
7. Srinivasan SR, Bao W, Wattigney WA, Berenson GS. Adolescent overweight is associated with adult overweight and related multiple cardiovascular risk factors: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Metabolism. 1996; 45:235–40.
8. Freedman DS, Khan LK, Dietz WH, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS. Relationship of childhood obesity to coronary heart disease risk factors in adulthood: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Pediatrics. 2001; 108:712–18.
9. Search for Diabetes in Youth Study Group. The Burden of Diabetes Mellitus Among US Youth: Prevalence Estimates From the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study. Pediatrics. 2006; 118:1510–18.