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(SOME TIME IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS I WILL BE WRITING ABOUT WHY THOSE WHO HAVE BLOGGED ABOUT LOSING WON'T PROBABLY WON'T)
Raise
a glass of diet soda: US obesity rate appears to be flat, but still
very high
LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer
5:30 PM EST, January 13, 2010
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CHICAGO (AP) — Raise a glass of diet soda: The nation's obesity rate
appears to have stalled. But the latest numbers still show that more
than two-thirds of adults and almost a third of kids are overweight,
with no sign of improvement.
According to government data from the years 2007-08 published
Wednesday, the obesity rate has held steady for about five years,
reflecting earlier signs it had stalled after steadily climbing.
Dr. William Dietz, an obesity expert with the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, cautiously called the results promising. "We're
at the corner; we haven't turned the corner," he said.
Not only are the vast majority of adults overweight, 34 percent are
obese; and 17 percent of children are obese. Even the youngest
Americans are affected — 10 percent of babies and toddlers are
precariously heavy.
The CDC data were contained in two reports published online in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Even though this finding is certainly good news, the statistics are
still staggering," said Dr. J. Michael Gaziano, a contributing editor
at the journal.
The new data are based on health surveys involving height and weight
measurements of 5,700 adults and 4,000 children, surveys the CDC does
every two years.
The results in adults, showing 68 percent are too heavy, have been
virtually the same in the last three surveys.
In most age groups, black adults had the highest rates of obesity,
followed by Mexican-Americans and whites.
Among children ages 2 to 19, 32 percent were too heavy — a rate that
was mostly unchanged. But disturbingly, most obese kids were extremely
obese. And the percentage of extremely obese boys ages 6 to 19 has
steadily increased, to 15 percent from about 9 percent in 1999-2000.
CDC researcher and study author Cynthia Ogden said it was disappointing
to see no decline, and troubling that the heaviest boys seem to be
getting even heavier. The study didn't examine the causes, but Ogden
cited the usual reasons — soft drinks, video games and inactivity — as
possible explanations.
"We shouldn't be complacent. We still have a problem," Ogden said.
Gaziano, a cardiologist at Boston's Veterans Affairs hospital and
Brigham and Women's Hospital, said getting the nation to turn the
corner and reduce obesity requires changing many unhealthy behaviors,
and getting restaurants, schools, food manufacturers and communities to
support the fight.
That's starting to happen, from efforts to pull soda from school
vending machines to campaigns by groups like the NFL to encourage
physical activity, he noted.
The epidemic is also high on the White House agenda. President Barack
Obama has pushed to make obesity prevention part of health care reform.
Overhaul measures pending in Congress include encouraging
employer-based wellness programs and requiring large restaurant chains
to list calories. And Michelle Obama on Wednesday said fighting
childhood obesity will be a top priority this coming year.
In a round-table conversation with reporters about her first year in
office and upcoming goals, Mrs. Obama said the new CDC reports suggest
a generation of children will be destined for increased rates of heart
disease, high blood pressure and strokes "if we don't get a handle on
this issue."
"We have a chance to change the fate of the next generation if we get
on it," she said.
People like Darrell Pender are paying attention.
Obesity "is constantly in the news," said Pender, a 42-year-old New
York City computer technician who decided to get serious about fighting
fat after being diagnosed with diabetes three years ago.
Pender was tempted by a TV ad for obesity surgery, but chose a less
drastic option — a nutrition support group that he credits with helping
him make healthier food choices. So far, he's lost 50 pounds over
several months. At 350 pounds, he's still very obese, but his diabetes
is under control and he feels healthier.
Karen Congro, Pender's nutritionist at the Brooklyn Hospital Center,
said obese patients in recent years seem more willing to try lifestyle
changes rather than quick fixes doomed to fail.
Fifteen years ago, "I would have said this seems almost hopeless.
Patients would say, 'I had an overweight uncle who lived to 99,'"
Congro said. "Now I almost never hear that."
___
Associated Press Writer Nancy Benac in Washington contributed to this
report.
