Americans in 2006 are fatter than ever, the heaviest since the government started tracking patterns of body weight for the U.S. adult population in the first half of the twentieth century. An estimated 127 million adults weigh more than is considered healthy, and of this group, more than sixty million are considered obese. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and U.S. Surgeon General…
During the twentieth century, advances in public health and medical care helped Americans to lead longer, healthier lives. Two important measures of the health of the population are infant mortality (death) rates and life expectancy at birth rates. Infant mortality rates significantly decreased and life expectancy increased by thirty years. Table 2.1 shows the decline in infant mortality between 1…
That diet and appetite are closely linked to psychological health and emotional well-being is widely recognized. Psychological factors often influence eating habits. Many people overeat when they are bored, stressed, angry, depressed, or anxious. Psychological distress can aggravate weight problems by triggering impulses to overeat. Emotional discomfort drives many people to overeat as a way to re…
One of the most disturbing observations about overweight and obesity in the United States is the epidemic of super-sized kids. A survey of adolescents in thirteen European countries, the United States, and Israel found that the United States, followed by Greece and Portugal, had the highest percentage of overweight teens (Inge Lissau et al., "Body Mass Index and Overweight in Adolescents in…
Americans have long been consumed with losing weight, seemingly willing to suffer deprivation and to embrace each new diet that debuts—even if the "new diet" is simply a twist on an ages-old weight-loss plan. The fixation with weight loss is so longstanding that even the word diet has assumed a new meaning. Used as a verb, diet means to eat and drink a prescribed selection of …
One credible hypothesis about the source of the epidemic of overweight and obesity in the United States is the progressive decrease in physical activity expended in daily life—for work, transportation, and household chores. Some researchers contend that the average caloric intake of Americans has not substantially increased; instead by reducing daily physical activity, the caloric imbalance…
The economic impact of obesity is considerable. The World Bank estimated the cost of obesity in the United States as 12% of the national health-care budget in the late 1990s. The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States has resulted in a corresponding increase in direct and indirect health-care costs. Direct health-care costs are those incurred for preventive measures, …
One of the challenges facing public-health professionals as they seek to combat obesity among Americans is helping consumers to distinguish myths, lore, legends, and outright fraud from accurate, usable information about nutrition, diet, exercise, and weight loss. Some of these inaccuracies are so longstanding and deeply rooted in American culture that even the most educated consumers unquestionin…
Many obesity researchers and health professionals believe that the most effective way to win the war on obesity is to intensify efforts to prevent overweight and obesity among children, adolescents, and adults. They assert that over time, prevention is far more cost effective than the expenditures associated with weight-loss efforts and medical treatment of obesity-related diseases. They also obse…
A November 2004 Gallup Poll revealed that knowledge about diet and the risks of overweight do not necessarily translate into behavioral change. A significant majority (62%) of Americans believed they should lose weight, even though less than half (41%) considered themselves overweight, and even fewer (29%) were actively trying to lose weight. It appears that Americans are somewhat confused about t…