Major Finding: There has been no increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among most subgroups in the United States.
Data Source: CDC study of 2007–2008 NHANES data.
Disclosures: None
Increases in obesity rates among American children and adults may have reached a plateau, according to two studies.
Examined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data from the comprehensive National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 2007–2008 show few changes in the prevalence of obesity since a similar survey in 1999–2000.
While most subcategories of Americans saw no statistically significant increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, there were some exceptions.
The prevalence of high weight in boys 6–19 years of age whose body mass index (BMI) was at the 97th percentile or above rose from less than 10% in 1999–2000 to 15.1% in 2007–2008.
Similarly, the prevalence of adult males classified as obese (BMI more than 30 kg/m
But for infants and toddlers of both sexes, boys 2–5 years of age, and girls and women of all ages, the rates of overweight and obesity appear to have stabilized over the last decade, after increasing greatly in prior years.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. J. Michael Gaziano of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, wrote that the studies, “offer a glimmer of hope that in the United States, at least, the steady, decades-long increases in overweight and obesity may have slowed or perhaps reached a plateau.”
The 2007–2008 survey on children and adolescents involved a representative sample of 719 infants and toddlers and 3,281 children and adolescents 2–19 years of age. Cynthia L. Ogden, Ph.D., and colleagues from the CDC authored that study (JAMA 2010;303:(doi:10.1001/jama.2009.2012
The 2007–2008 survey on adults involved a representative sample of 5,555 men and women 20 years of age and above.
Katherine M. Flegal, Ph.D. and colleagues from the CDC authored that study (JAMA 2010;303:(doi:10.1001/jama.2009.2014
In the most recent survey, 11.9% of children 2–19 years of age had BMIs at the 97th percentile and above, 16.9% had BMIs at the 95th percentile and above, and 31.7% had BMIs in the 85th percentile and above.
Among adults, 33.9% had BMIs of 30 and above (classified as obese), and 68.3% had BMIs of 25 and above (classified as overweight). In addition, 14.3% of adults had BMIs of 35 or above (Grade 2 obesity), and 5.7% had BMIs of 40 or above (Grade 3 obesity).
Dr. Gaziano continued in his editorial, “Even if these trends can be maintained, 68% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and almost 32% of school-aged U.S. children and adolescents are at or above the 85th percentile of BMI for age.
Given the risk of obesity-related major health problems, a massive public-health campaign to raise awareness about the effects of overweight and obesity is necessary.
“The longer the delay in taking aggressive action, the higher the likelihood that the significant progress achieved in decreasing chronic disease rates during the last 40 years will be negated, possibly even with a decrease in life expectancy,” he said (JAMA 2010;303: (doi:10.1001/jama.2009.2025
The CDC sponsored both studies, and the investigators reported no financial disclosures.
Dr. Gaziano reported receiving research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Veterans Administration, and Veroscience; receiving pills and packaging for a research study from BASF, DSM, and Wyeth; serving as a consultant to Bayer; and serving as a medical expert for Merck.