Physical Activity—In 2005:
Less than half (48.1 percent) of Americans said they got the recommended weekly level of physical activity.
One in four (25.4 percent) said they had no leisure-time activity at all. 1
Fruit and Vegetable Consumption—In 2005:
Less than one-quarter (23.8 percent) of Americans said that they ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day as recommended.
40 percent said they ate only two servings or fewer. 2
Adult Obesity—Since the Mid-1970s:
The prevalence of obesity among adults has doubled from 15.0 percent in a 1976—1980 survey to 32.9 percent in a 2003—2004 survey. 3
Childhood Obesity in the United States—Since the Mid-1970s:
Obesity has tripled among teenagers (from 5.0 percent to 17.4 percent).
Obesity has tripled among kids 6-11 (from 6.5 percent to 18.8 percent).
Obesity has nearly tripled among children ages 2-5 (from 5.0 percent to 13.9 percent). 4
Annual Medical Expenditures Attributable to Adult Obesity:
Percentage of population - 5.7 percent; Amount spent - $75 billion.
Percentage of Medicare population - 6.8 percent; Amount of Medicare spent - $17 billion.
Percentage of Medicaid population - 10.6 percent; Amount of Medicaid spent - $21 billion. 5
Total Cost of Obesity to U.S. Companies—$13 Billion Per Year:
Health insurance costs: $8 billion
Paid sick leave: $2.4 billion
Life insurance: $1.8 billion
Disability insurance: $1 billion 6
Healthcare Utilization Rates—Obese Individuals Account for:
36 percent higher inpatient and outpatient spending
77 percent higher medication spending
45 percent more inpatient days
48 percent more expenditures above $5000
11 percent higher annual healthcare 7
Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes and Arthritis:
Three chronic illnesses most associated with obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating.
Cardiovascular Disease
Heart disease currently accounts for nearly 40 percent of all deaths; about 60 percent of severely overweight children
age 5 to 10 had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides,
insulin, or blood pressure), while 25 percent had two or more risk factors. 8
Diabetes
7 percent of Americans have diabetes; expected to increase by 165 percent between 2000 and 2050; type II diabetes
- once referred to as “adult onset diabetes,” now increasingly diagnosed in children, and experts predict
that 30 to 40 percent of children born in United States will be diagnosed with diabetes in their lifetime. 9
Arthritis
The percentage of arthritis cases linked directly to obesity has risen from 3 percent in 1971 to 18 percent in 2002;
obese people were 20 percent more likely to develop arthritis in 1971, but that number jumped to 60 percent in 2002. 10
(1) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006. Available at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Finkelstein, EA, Fiebelkorn, IC, Wang, G. State-level estimates of annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity. Obesity Research 2004;12(1):18—24.
(6) U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Prevention Makes Common Cents: Estimated Economic Costs of Obesity to U.S. Business, September 2003. Available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/prevention/.
(7) Control Data Corp., Health Risks and Behavior: The Impact on Medical Costs, 1987.
(8) Wang, et al.,“Economic burden of obesity in youths aged 6 to 17 years: 1979—1999,” Pediatrics 109:81—89 (2002).
(9) Narayan, et al.,“Lifetime Risk for Diabetes Mellitus in the United States,” The Journal of the American Medical Association 290(14):1884—1890 (2003).
(10) Suzanne Leveille, et al.,“Obesity and Arthritis Among Baby Boomers,” American Journal of Public Health (September 2005).
* Recommended physical activity is defined as reported moderate-intensity activities in a usual week (i.e., brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming, gardening, or anything else that causes small increases in breathing or heart rate) for at least 30 minutes per day, at least five days per week; or vigorous-intensity activities in a usual week (i.e., running, aerobics, heavy yard work, or anything else that causes large increases in breathing or heart rate) for at least 20 minutes per day, at least three days per week or both. This can be accomplished through lifestyle activities (i.e., household, transportation, or leisure-time activities).
** Five servings of fruits and vegetables per day was the criterion used in the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. The most up-to-date federal dietary recommendations can be found at www.mypyramid.com