• 61% of adults in the United States were overweight or obese in 1999.
• 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years were overweight in 1999. This prevalence has nearly tripled for adolescents in the past 2 decades.
• The increases in overweight and obesity cut across all ages, racial and ethnic groups, and both genders.
• 300,000 deaths each year in the United States are associated with obesity.
• Overweight and obesity are associated with heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems, and psychological disorders, such as depression.
• The economic cost of obesity in the United States was about $117 billion in 2000.
The Surgeon General's
Site on Obesity
Links
International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB)
www.ishib.org
(404) 880-0343
A Healthy BET, weight maintenance solutions for African Americans
www.ahealthybet.com
1-866-3LOSE-IT
American Obesity Association
www.obesity.org
Body Mass Index Calculator
www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi
American Diabetes Association
Diabetes information and healthy adaptations to recipes for popular dishes.
www.diabetes.org
American Heart Association
www.americanheart.org
CDC Nutrition & Physical Activity Website
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity
National Cancer Institute/Body &Soul Program
www.nci.gov
