Did you know that 66% of the population of the US is overweight. Here’s what the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey states: About two-thirds (66%) of adults in the United States are overweight, and almost one-third are obese. By the way some surveys actually put the overweight now at 70%.
The most commonly used method today to calculate if you are overweight is the body mass index (BMI). BMI is an index of weight adjusted for the height of an individual. Calculating BMI is simple, quick, and inexpensive—but it does have limitations. One problem with using BMI as a measurement tool is that very muscular people may fall into the “overweight” category when they are actually healthy and fit. Another problem with using BMI is that people who have lost muscle mass, such as the elderly, may be in the “healthy weight” BMI category (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) when they actually have reduced nutritional reserves. BMI, therefore, is useful as a screening tool for individuals and as a general guideline to monitor trends in the population, but by itself is not diagnostic of an individual patient’s health status.
An easy way to calculate your BMI using pounds and inches, multiply weight in pounds by 704.5,* divide the result by height in inches, and then divide that result by height in inches a second time. (You can also use the BMI calculator at http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bm.
Here are some of the problems with being overweight and obese: (Remember that we’re talking about those with a higher FAT ratio than MUSCLE ratio).
Overweight
♥ diabetes
♥ coronary heart disease
♥ high blood cholesterol
♥ stroke
♥ hypertension
♥ gallbladder disease
♥ osteoarthritis (degeneration of cartilage and bone of joints)
♥ sleep apnea and other breathing problems
♥ some forms of cancer (breast, colorectal, endometrial, and kidney)
Obesity
♥ complications of pregnancy
♥ menstrual irregularities
♥ hirsutism (presence of excess body and facial hair)
♥ stress incontinence (urine leakage caused by weak pelvic floor muscles)
♥ psychological disorders, such as depression
♥ increased surgical risk
♥ increased mortality
Here’s the US statistics.
Age 20 and older who are overweight
All adults: 133.6 million (66 percent)
Women: 65 million (61.6 percent)
Men: 68.3 million (70.5 percent)
Age 20 and older who are obese
All adults: 63.6 million (31.4 percent)
Women: 35 million (33.2 percent)
Men: 28.6 million (29.5 percent)
Age 20 and older who are at a healthy weight (not necessarily healthy)
All adults: 65.4 million (32.3 percent)
Women: 38.1 million (36.1 percent)
Men: 27.4 million (28.3 percent)
Here are the stats on children and adolescents:
Approximately 17.5 percent of children (age 6 to 11) and
17 percent of adolescents (age 12 to 19) were overweight
If you aren’t already thinking about the following I’ll give you a head start on the ramifications of being overweight.
♥ Increased health care costs—both direct and indirect – cost $117 billion (2002).
Direct health care costs refer to preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services such as physician visits, medications, and hospital and nursing home care.
Indirect costs are the value of wages lost by people unable to work because of illness or disability, as well as the value of future earnings lost by premature death.
♥ Lost productivity – cost is $3.9 billion (2001)
Beyond those more measurable costs there are the following potential effects:
♥ Early death - Leaving young children without a parent
♥ Loss of mobility causing others to care for you
♥ Lack of self-esteem
♥ Inability to function or participate in certain sports
♥ Loss of a job or being overlooked for a promotion (yes it is judgmental)
♥ Transportation difficulties
♥ Clothing costs
♥ Auto gets lower gas mileage because of additional weight
I’m sure you can add to the list.
Just so you know I have no judgments about overweight people as I have some very great friends who are overweight, hard not to have any with 66% - 70% of the population in that category. I only point this out to be clear that getting on the healthy side of life has many advantages not just for the overweight person, but also for friends, family, the economy (theirs and ours) and the environment.
I really look forward to your perspective and comments.
Send them to: arthur@lifenhealthcoach.com
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