Pound Foolish
A look at obesity by the numbers
By
Katy Reckdahl
Whether an adult is measured overweight or obese
depends on his or her Body Mass Index (BMI). For example, someone who is 6 feet
tall would be considered overweight at 185 pounds and obese at 225 pounds.
To find out your BMI, go to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention Web site (www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm).
Plug in your height and weight and find out whether you are underweight, normal,
overweight or obese.
Since 1980:
· The number of obese adults has doubled
· The number of overweight adolescents
has tripled
Source: "The Surgeon General's Call To Action
to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity," December 2001
Overweight or obese adults (percent)
Louisiana United States
Adults 57 56
Adult males 65 65
Adult females 51 47
White adults 56 55
Black adults 64 66
Source: 2001 statistics from the Henry J.
Kaiser Family Foundation's State Health Facts Online
Overweight kids (percent):
United States
Children (ages 6-11) 15.3
Adolescents (ages 12-19) 15.5
Chance that a child will be obese
· If both parents are obese: 80 percent
· If both parents are lean: 7 percent
Source: the Louisiana State University AgCenter
· 80 percent of Louisiana diabetics are
overweight
· Being overweight or obese substantially
increases the risk of sleep apnea hypertension, high cholesterol, type II diabetes,
heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease and osteoarthritis
Source: Louisiana Department of Health and
Hospitals
2003 Louisiana Health Report Card
Nearly 1 out of every 10 dollars spent on health
care in the United States is due to overweight and obesity. This rivals the amount
due to cigarette smoking.
Source: "National medical spending attributable
to overweight and obesity; How much, and who's paying?" Health
Affairs 2003
Minutes of recommended daily physical activity
Adults 30
Children 60
Adults who met the recommendation 32 percent
Adults who do not get any physical activity
40 percent
Teens who watch more than two hours of TV
43 percent
Source: "The Surgeon General's Call To Action
to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity," December 2001
Other Stories This Week in Features:
Cover Story
New Orleanian of the Year Bill Goldring
Feature
Health News
It's Good to Be a Quitter
Health Talk
The Waistland
Under the Volcano
Blake Pontchartrain™
New Orleans Know-It-All
Shoptalk
Martinis and More
Other Stories by Katy Reckdahl:
News Feature 12 16 03
News Feature 12 09 03
News Feature 12 02 03
Katy Reckdahl Archives
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