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Prevalence of overweight, obesity in the United States

Date:
June 22, 2015
Source:
The JAMA Network Journals
Summary:
More than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to new estimates. Overweight and obesity are associated with a variety of chronic health conditions, which could potentially be avoided by preventing weight gain and obesity.
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New estimates suggest that more than two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Overweight and obesity are associated with a variety of chronic health conditions, which could potentially be avoided by preventing weight gain and obesity.

Graham A. Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., and Lin Yang, Ph.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2012 to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity. They collected data for 15,208 men and women 25 or older, a sample that was representative of more than 188 million people.

The study, which was reported in a research letter, estimates that 39.96 percent of men (36.3 million) and 29.74 percent of women (almost 28.9 million) were overweight and 35.04 percent of men (31.8 million) and 36.84 percent of women (nearly 35.8 million) were obese.

"Population-based strategies helping to reduce modifiable risk factors such as physical environment interventions, enhancing primary care efforts to prevent and treat obesity, and altering societal norms of behavior are required," the authors conclude.


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Materials provided by The JAMA Network Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Lin Yang, Graham A. Colditz. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 2007-2012. JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015; DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.2405

Cite This Page:

The JAMA Network Journals. "Prevalence of overweight, obesity in the United States." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 June 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150622122720.htm>.
The JAMA Network Journals. (2015, June 22). Prevalence of overweight, obesity in the United States. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150622122720.htm
The JAMA Network Journals. "Prevalence of overweight, obesity in the United States." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150622122720.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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