The Obesity Crisis

In the past 20 years, the prevalence of obesity in America has risen dramatically to the point where the majority of Americans (2 out of 3 – or 119 million citizens) are currently either overweight or obese (NHANES). 59 million Americans (1 out of 3) are obese (BMI > 30) and a similar number is overweight. For further information, please refer to http://www.obesity.org/statistics/obesity_trends.asp. This trend comes at a tremendous cost to employers, society, and the individuals affected by obesity.

For employers, obesity is linked to higher healthcare costs than smoking or drinking. Obesity costs companies $45 billion annually (The Conference Board and RTI International) and led to 27% of the rise in medical costs from 1987 to 2001 (Thorpe).

While the costs to our society are high, obesity related diseases, of course, affect the lives of individuals. Obesity is, in fact, associated with over 100 diseases, many of them quite serious. And while awareness of the serious side effects of obesity is increasing, obesity’s prevalence is still rising. Even in the pediatric population, it is currently estimated that the prevalence of obesity between the ages of 6 and 17 hovers around 20% (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)).

For a map of the rising prevalence of obesity, please refer to this site from the Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/

At Jumpstart, we are committed to combat our national obesity epidemic one patient at a time through nutrition education, exercise, ongoing support, and medical supervision.