Obesity Statistics

As time goes on, the world and especially the United States is becoming more and more obsessed with food and more and more obese because of it. It has been recently calculated that almost two thirds of the residents of the United States are obese. That means that somewhere in the proximity of fifty-eight million residents are overweight. There are forty million residence that are considered to be obese and at least three million that are considered to be morbidly obese. Part of the reason for this is that junk food has become exceedingly available; we also have a propensity for eating food for comfort, specifically some of the worst foods for us. Add to that, the fact that the population in general is exercising less and less. Becoming more lethargic more connected to computers than nature. With this, the muscle tissues that are the most adept at using calories become less prevalent within the body, replaced by fat tissues that are meant to store, not process. We find ourselves in a vicious cycle that can easily end in a fatality. Over half of the population that is overweight ends up with type II diabetes and that number goes up as age increases. Cardiovascular diseases also becomes more prevalent in those that have a severe weight problem.

Cancers Caused By Obesity

Breast cancer and colon cancer can hit anyone; however, both are diseases that are much more prevalent in overweight and obese people. Blood pressure problems are also very common in people that are having weight problems. A large portion of gall bladder surgery patients have this problem directly related to their issues of obesity.

Race And Culture vs Obesity

Obesity is also affected by race and culture. Different cultures have different eating patterns; their diet consists of different types of foods in different quantities. In women, the most overweight sector is black females followed by Hispanic females and white females, while the lowest overweight sector is women of any oriental decent. In males, the highest weight problems exist in Hispanic males, followed by black males and white males, while the lowest are males of oriental decent.

What Obesity Is Costing You

Obesity is costing the United States literally billions of dollars annually both directly and indirectly due to the health issues and diseases obesity causes. Many forms of cancer are more prevalent in obese individuals than in healthy individuals of prime weight. Arthritis and diabetes are also more prevalent in overweight individuals. Obesity alone is costing over a billion dollars; this amount is comparable to the costs of health issues connected with cigarette smoking. The cost of obesity isn’t just numbered in health and medical costs; it also costs employers millions of dollars in lost time and revenue for employees that call in sick due to obesity related health issues.

Childhood Obesity On The Rise

Childhood obesity is on a steady rise as children spend less and less time out on the playgrounds of America, they are now homebound, focused on computer games and living on snack foods as much as possible.

As long as a multitude of unhealthy foods are exceedingly available, and as long as the general population is so focused on computers and computer games, health in the United States will continue to decline, while weight gain will continue to rise.