Obesity Crisis in America Likely to Affect 42% of Americans by 2030
A new study recently released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention projected that by 2030, 42 percent of Americans will be obese and 11 percent will be severely obese. Currently 34 percent of Americans are obese, which is roughly defined as 30 pounds over a healthy weight, and 6 percent are severely obese, which is 100 pounds or more over a healthy weight. With this predictable dramatic increase, health professionals fear that if nothing is done now to bring this epidemic under control it will continue to escalate adding billions of dollars to healthcare costs.
The United States is facing a big fat problem. Being overweight takes a huge toll on overall health, increasing the risk for several health problems including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, many types of cancer, sleep apnea and other chronic illnesses. This is why obesity is now one of the biggest underlying contributors for the increase in healthcare costs and is currently responsible for an additional $190 billion a year in healthcare. Without a major public health intervention the problem will very likely get much worse. Researchers have found that based on CDC projected statistics, obesity will eventually cost the country $550 billion in healthcare over the next 20 years.
The only bit of good news found in this study presented at the CDC’s “Weight of the Nation” meeting and now to be published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine is that even though the number of obese Americans continues to rise, it’s beginning to increase at a slower rate. According to the research, if obesity was to rise at the same rapid rate it has in the last two decades, approximately more than half the US population would be obese by 2030.
This slowdown in obesity concerns is a small victory for now, but to continue fighting for better health we all must learn how to lose weight and keep it off for good. Here are a few tips developed by successful dieters in the National Weight Control Registry, which have helped them lose 30 pounds or more and maintain the loss for over a year:
- Follow a low-fat, low-calorie diet consisting of approximately 1,800 calories per day.
- Keep a daily journal and record food intake.
- Keep track of the calories, carbohydrates and/or fat grams consumed each day or use a commercial weight-loss program to count food intake.
- Engage in physical activities you enjoy for at least one hour a day.
- Do not skip breakfast! Eat breakfast regularly, often including whole grains and low-fat dairy products.
- Limit dining out to an average of three times a week, and fast food to less than once a week.
- Watch fewer than 10 hours of TV a week.
- Check your weight at least once a week.
