If there needs to be any proof that obesity is an epidemic and probably the most serious threat to the health of the American population, one only has to turn to the results of new Gallup research. Almost 28% of people in the United States are obese, and this is the highest level since Gallup began to produce the data in 2008. Another 35% of Americans are classified as overweight.

The research firm uses a standard measure for the categories of weight classification:

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which uses respondents’ self-reports of their height and weight to calculate body mass index (BMI) scores, differs slightly from government reports of obesity, which are based on actual heights and weights found in clinical measurements. Individual BMI values of 30 or above are classified as “obese,” 25 to 29.9 are “overweight,” 18.5 to 24.9 are “normal weight,” and 18.4 or less are “underweight.” For the past six years, nearly two-thirds of Americans have had BMIs higher than are recommended, while roughly 35% of Americans have been in the “normal weight” category.

Most research on the cost of obesity to the U.S. economy puts the number above $200 billion per year, and that figure only covers medical costs. Broader effects, which include lost time at work, food and clothing costs, and increased use of fuel, move that number to over $400 billion a year. A recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health showed that these costs will continue to skyrocket.

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Gallup researcher reported what could happen if these trends were reversed:

Reducing obesity rates could unlock a bevy of economic and societal benefits including lower costs to employers.

And reduced medical costs would be colossal.

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However, almost all information shows that obesity rates rise ever higher year after year. No matter how many solutions or proposed solutions are thrown at the problem, each one has been ineffective. And there is no single significant bit of proof this will change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Methodology: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey Jan. 1 to May 19, 2014, with a random sample of 64,546 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

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