Obesity in America

firefly171717

How do these chart makers know how much everybody weighs everywhere?

This is what I wonder. I haven't been weighted by a doctor since I was around 11 years old. Neither have a lot of my friends/family. Are they just extrapolating based on the numbers they do have?

I get weighted every time....and census....happens every 10 years

Pepper2185

I live in Canada. I went to a restaurant near Seattle and ordered a junior cheese pizza off of the kids menu. I wasn't very hungry and wanted a tiny meal. The pizza was the size of a large dinner plate.

Junior cheese pizza my *kitten*.

melkneec

Wow!!!

Elizabeth_C34

I remember growing up in Tennessee and coming back home there last year. I was over 200 lbs, and I was considered "average" when I was actually obese. Some of my friends actually told me I looked "skinny" which was kinda disturbing.

The first time I went to Europe last year, I felt huge. Everyone there was so much thinner and fitter. I was really embarassed about my size there.

P.S. There is no way Texas is not over 30% obesity now. I spent some time near Corpus Christi a couple years ago and, again at over 200 lbs, I was by FAR the thinnest person I saw. I routinely saw people over 400 or 500 lbs. It was very sad to see a whole community of people with such poor health.

healthyJenn0915

Wow, this is so crazy! Time for us Americans to get on the ball and get healthy!

silentnacht

How do these chart makers know how much everybody weighs everywhere?

This is what I wonder. I haven't been weighted by a doctor since I was around 11 years old. Neither have a lot of my friends/family. Are they just extrapolating based on the numbers they do have?

I get weighted every time....and census....happens every 10 years

Haha, well I haven't BEEN to a doctor since I was 11. Maybe I should have clarified. So unless the government has spies in my bathroom there is some extrapolation happening somewhere.

kalepowered

Sadly, I can't imagine anyone who would find these graphs surprising. And people wonder why others in different countries list "fat" as one of the first adjectives if they were to describe Americans in general.

auntiebabs

That was in '08, just imagine how much worse it is now. Not really much that can be done though, if people want to stick to all their unhealthy habits, they can't be forced to change.

I disagree I think a large part of the problem is that there are so many added sugars in what use to be *REAL* foods.
Sugars and artificial sugars increase appetite hence food manufacturers add it to sell more product.

While there is the "sugar is a sugar" argument HFCS is much sweeter that old fashion sugar, so you'd think they'd use less...BUT NO THEY USE MORE... We've gotten used to sugar in everything which keeps our cravings going and prevents the absorption of nutrients... They government subsidizes the corn crops that make HFCS and then tell use we need to use more will power.

I've been keeping an eye on sugars in "real" foods and find it really difficult to keep it in check. Back in the 1960s when I was a kid real food was real food. I a kid could have a treat once in a while, now much or the "real" foods on the market are sweeter than Treats.

I look at it this way my favorite cookies are 9g of sugar for 15 cookies.... One day I picked up a jar of prepared tomato sauce and it was 9g of sugar for 1/2 cup serving. So I went back to buying plain canned tomato sauce and making my own.. but last time I went to the story I notice Corn syrup was listed as an ingredient were it once only said tomatoes.... I'm so frustrated. So much of it is hidden and it takes so much work to avoid it. But with a family history of diabetes

Silverkittycat

How do these chart makers know how much everybody weighs everywhere?

Haha, well I haven't BEEN to a doctor since I was 11. Maybe I should have clarified. So unless the government has spies in my bathroom there is some extrapolation happening somewhere.

Silentnacht - There's limitations. :laugh:
I didn't see the current report so I copied the method 2009's report, which was released in 2010. Same method though.

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) measures height and weight through self-report in state-based surveys; data are released every year. In 2000, a Healthy People 2010 objective was established to reduce the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States to 15%.* This objective is based on obesity prevalence from measured height and weight among participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Because NHANES provides only national and not state-specific estimates, CDC uses the state-based BRFSS data and applies the 15% prevalence figure as a reasonable target for self-reported obesity prevalence in the states. As of 2007 (6), no state had met the Healthy People 2010 objective to reduce the prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults to 15%. To characterize the most recent trends, CDC used data from the 2009 BRFSS survey to estimate the national and state-specific prevalence of obesity among adults aged ≥18 years.

Methods

BRFSS is an ongoing annual, state-based, random-digit--dialed landline telephone survey of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized adult population. States use BRFSS data to identify and monitor the prevalence of behaviors and health conditions and to develop and evaluate risk prevention initiatives. BRFSS data are weighted for probability of selection to match the age-, race-, and sex-specific populations of participating states and the District of Columbia (DC). Since 1984, BRFSS has asked survey respondents to report their weight and height. All 50 states and DC have contributed these data since 1996. The body mass index (BMI) (weight [kg] / height [m]2) is calculated for each participant, based on self-reported weight and height. Obesity is defined as BMI ≥30. For consistency with previous analyses, respondents reporting weight ≥500 pounds or height ≥7 feet or feet were excluded, and unadjusted prevalence estimates were reported for each state and by selected sociodemographic characteristics. In the 2009 BRFSS survey, Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO) response rates ranged from 37.9 to 66.9% (median: 52.9%), and cooperation rates ranged from 55.5% to 88.0% (median: 75.0%).† A total of 405,102 persons participated. Prevalence estimates were compared with previously published estimates from the 2000, 2005, and 2007 surveys (6,7). T-tests were used to assess statistical differences in the total prevalence estimates.

jfluchere

Sadly a lot of Americans don't care about a lot of things, their health included.

pirateDeb

This chart does not surprise me. I was 250 at 5'7". WAY in the obese range, almost morbidly. I carried it well though, and locally, I was probably average looking, especially in the restaurant business. It wasn't until a vacation I saw some profile pictures of me, and I looked pregnant with triplets. It didn't take long for me to join a gym after that, lol. Before starting MyFitnessPal, I used another, crappier calorie tracking guide, and am down to 180ish(scale battery is dead!), my bmi is on the boarder of overweight and obese, and I hope by the end of the year to be down to the high side of my proper weight range.

My issue is that I cook for a living, and being surrounded by food all day every day(and not healthy stuff), makes it near impossible to eat right all of the time. However for the rest of America, I think the issue is with processed foods. Because of the highly processed sugars that are loaded into everything, they are more addictive. In addition, the cheaper ingredients also make the processed foods more easily available, and cheaper than healthy eating. Has anyone seen the price of beef lately? Fresh veggies? Personally speaking, I cant wait until next winter when I will be settled enough to start my own seedlings for a garden. Also, probably going to own chickens. Learning to hunt as well once garden is established. Healthy food is CRAZY expensive.

ShrinkingChelle

Here's an interesting (if depressing) bar chart that compares obesity rates across countries:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

If that's not a wake-up call for those of us in the USA, I don't know what is.

Im surprised we are #11, I thought Canada would have been closer to the top.

torie079

In fairness, I am an american, and I am Obese based on the BMI chart.............and probabaly will be forever. . . . It is possible to be "obese" and healthy........as odd as that sounds..............but i do understand that this is reference to a different situation..........but people like me also factor into those OBESE numbers

My husband is considered "obese" too.. But he's just muscular...

silentnacht

I didn't see the current report so I copied the method 2009's report, which was released in 2010. Same method though.

Interesting! I always like knowing the number of people actually surveyed.

The results don't surprise me, though. I ride the bus everywhere so I spend a lot of time watching people. It's kind of shocking how many overweight/obese people I see when I take the time to pay attention to body types, and even beyond that, a lot of the average/thin people don't seem fit/healthy. There are so many problems with activity levels, food and general health practices in this country. It's, quite frankly, angering.

Hoakiebs

That's corporatocracy for you. Make you cheap processed foods, cut your wages and your free time so that only the top 10% or so can afford to eat a healthy diet, then suck you into buying their cheap processed foods for your survival. Voila! FAT AMERICA!

Hoakiebs

i don't know about those numbers.. 30% of americans are obese? that mean every 3-4 people i see should be overweight and that doesn't seem right. i'll pay attention tomorrow.

No, 30% means 3 of 10 people you meet will be obese, which is defined as seriously overweight, so that doesn't include the people that are overweight. It comes with abundance and sedantary lifestyle. We have it too good in this country that we don't have to walk past our driveway, nor bike to the store, nor do much manual labor, UNLESS WE CHOOSE TO, at the gym. Most of the world probably has a much higher minimum calorie requirement just to get through the day because they don't have a machine that spits out paper towls or flushes the toilet for you.

pdworkman

Here's an interesting (if depressing) bar chart that compares obesity rates across countries:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

If that's not a wake-up call for those of us in the USA, I don't know what is.

Im surprised we are #11, I thought Canada would have been closer to the top.

Canada's rates of overweight/obesity are quite a bit below the US, though still rising. Interesting, since we eat a lot of the same foods, have a lot of the same fast food chains, etc. Also, since our population is so much more spread out than in the US, we spend a lot more time in our cars rather than walking (just look at our greenhouse gas ratings), and because of our weather, probably don't spend as much time outside. The gyms cost a lot more money.

All the snow shovelling must be having an effect. LOL.

Pam

smcolton

Yeah Colorado!

pdworkman

One thing that I found when I first started trying to lose the weight (after years of refusing to weigh myself and considering myself healthy weight, not overweight) was that we really don't know what "normal" and "overweight" look like any more. And if I'm seeing that in Canada, it must be even more of an issue in the US.

Pull out some old 50's movies and take a look at the people's body shapes. Somebody who would be considered "normal" by today's standards would have been considered chunky back then. Look at the arms on the women and the shoulder width on the men. Put on an old episode of "Brady Bunch" and look at the kids and adults, then look around you.

Pam

i don't know about those numbers.. 30% of americans are obese? that mean every 3-4 people i see should be overweight and that doesn't seem right. i'll pay attention tomorrow.

No, 30% means 3 of 10 people you meet will be obese, which is defined as seriously overweight, so that doesn't include the people that are overweight. It comes with abundance and sedantary lifestyle. We have it too good in this country that we don't have to walk past our driveway, nor bike to the store, nor do much manual labor, UNLESS WE CHOOSE TO, at the gym. Most of the world probably has a much higher minimum calorie requirement just to get through the day because they don't have a machine that spits out paper towls or flushes the toilet for you.

mrsdizzyd84

Man this is so sad, but I know it's true and probably even worse than those numbers show. I'm overweight not obese, and I am often times one of the smallest people in a given store, restaurant, etc. The number of morbidly obese people I see on a given day is shocking. I'm in the South. One of my neighbors is probably over 500 pounds. She just about never comes out of the house, and when she does, she has to be on a motor scooter because she can't walk anymore. My heart breaks for her every time I see her.