Obesity In America Research

After 25 years of increases in the rate of obesity in adults age 20 and older, no change in prevalence occurred between 2003 and 2004 and 2005 and 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity still remains one of the leading health challenges facing Americans, however, with 34 percent of adults battling this condition.

Definition

Health professionals use body mass index, or BMI, to determine obesity. BMI is based on your weight relative to height. You're considered obese if you have a BMI at or greater than 30. This means you have an excessive amount of body fat in relation to your lean body mass.

Demographics

In "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010," a study conducted by the non-profit organization Trust for America's Health Obesity, obesity rates for adults who are African-American or Latin-American were higher than for white Americans in at least 40 states and the District of Columbia. Ten out of the 11 states with the highest rates were in the south; Mississippi had the highest adult obesity rates for six years straight. Poverty was also a greater risk factor in becoming obese. About 35 percent of adults who earn less than $15,000 annually are obese compared to about 24 percent of adults who earn $50,000 or more annually, according to the study.

Causes

Marketing practices that encourage unhealthy eating habits and institutionally-driven deterrents to an active lifestyle are the "big two" causes of obesity, according to research published in the "International Journal of Obesity" in 2006. But, according to lead researcher David B. Allison, other factors do not get the attention they deserve, which leads to less effective policies to combat obesity. Some of these factors include lack of sleep, medications, demographics and pollution, which disrupts endocrine activity.

Cost

Obesity is a risk factor for several medical conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. As obesity rates rise in America, so do accompanying health-care costs, according to a study published in the 2009 issue of the journal "Health Affairs." The researchers estimate that obesity accounted for almost $40 billion dollars of increased medical spending in 2006 and $7 billion in Medicare prescription costs. People who are obese pay $1,429 more, or 42 percent more, in health care costs than people within the normal-weight range.