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United States – obesity figures level off
On the other side of the Atlantic, where one adult in three and one youngster in six under the age of 19 is obese, the most recent figures on the prevalence of obesity were awaited with keen interest. Published last week, they confirm that the weight epidemic has not increased. This stagnation – or levelling off in what seemed to be an inexorable progression – is seen as relatively good news.
Launched in the 1960s by the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the NHANES study (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) focuses on the diet and health of Americans. Around 10,000 Americans took part in the last phase of the study, aimed at comparing the prevalence of obesity in 2009-2010 with that of previous periods.
The results show that while obesity figures increased considerably in the United States between 1980 and 2000, they appear to have levelled off in the last 7 years. In total, 35.6% of adult Americans suffer from obesity. “We see no significant change compared with the period 2003-2008” state the authors of the report. The same is true of children and adolescents: in 2010, more than 16% of 2-19-year olds were obese. That’s a lot … but this figure has not increased since 2007.
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