No state in the country is going to dodge the problem, with
women expected to be harder hit than men
In a decade, the obesity problem in the U.S.
will encompass half the population, according to a study published in the New
England Journal of Medicine. And a quarter will be severely
obese, the New York Times warns.
The researchers from Harvard and George
Washington universities project that adult obesity will hit at least 35 percent
in every state, but in 29 states that number will be higher than 50 percent.
No state in the country is going to dodge
this, with women expected to be harder hit than men, at nearly 28 percent by
the end of the decade. Blacks will also suffer more, with a third of them
experiencing severe obesity—and categorizing their group as the most affected
among races and ethnicities.
And some states will also be in for higher
rates as well, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and
Oklahoma.
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that 40 percent of U.S. adults are obese—but by 2030, that
will hit 49 percent. And the chief sufferers will be those who can least afford
food. In the 44 states where the average annual household income is under
$20,000, severe obesity will be the most common weight class, but in only one
state where income is over $50,000. In fact, 32 percent of low-income adults
will be severely obese.
“The causes of obesity are very complex and
include characteristics related to where you live, your culture and even your
friends,” June Stevens, a spokesperson for The Obesity Society and a professor
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told MedicineNet.
Stevens added, “These relationships contribute
to different groups of Americans being affected by the obesity epidemic
differently. In order to effectively prevent and treat obesity, it’s useful to
understand these differences.”
But the prevalence and low cost of processed
foods and the inaccessibility and higher cost of healthy foods in poor areas
are contributing to the trend. Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center
for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut, who was not
involved in the study, says, “As a society, we have a responsibility to
make it easier for people to have a healthy lifestyle.”
At present, 40 percent of American adults are
obese, with just 18 percent severely so. But present trends will lead to
approximately 49 percent having become obese by 2030, while 24 percent will
have become severely obese—something that used to be rare.
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