Diet and obesity statistics
According to obesity statistics, U.S. life expectancy will fall dramatically in coming years because of obesity, a startling shift in a long-running trend toward longer lives, researchers contend in a report recently published. By the last clinical studies on homeopathy and obesity - disputed by skeptics as shaky and overly dire - within 50 years obesity likely will shorten the average life span of 77.6 years by at least two to five years. That's more than the impact of cancer or heart disease, said lead author S. Jay Olshansky, a longevity researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
This would reverse the mostly steady increase in American life expectancy that has occurred in the past two centuries and would have tremendous social and economic consequences that could even inadvertently help "save" Social Security. The worse obesity disease management may be caused by the small research on obesity. Anyway, the result is major presence of obesity in America statistics on population health.
Medical professionals believe today's younger generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history unless somebody intervenes. The graph of obesity in America supports this conclusion.
Don't become another obesity statistic - get a free diet profile today
Already, the alarming rise in childhood obesity is fueling a new trend that has shaved four to nine months off the average U.S. life span, the researchers say. With obesity affecting at least 15 percent of U.S. school-age children, "it's not pie in the sky," like some doctors said. The children who are extremely obese are already here. This report appears in the New England Journal of Medicine. In an accompanying editorial, University of Pennsylvania demography expert Samuel H. Preston calls the projections "excessively gloomy." He says that opposing forecasts, projecting a continued increase in U.S. longevity, assume that obesity will continue to worsen, but also account for medical advances.
Still, failure to curb obesity could impede the improvements in longevity that are otherwise in store. Americans' current life expectancy already trails more than 20 other developed countries. Dr. David Ludwig of Children's Hospital Boston, a study co-author, cited sobering obesity statistics:
Two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese; one-third of adults qualifies as obese.
Up to 30 percent of U.S. children are overweight, and childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 25 years....
Childhood diabetes has increased 10-fold in the past 20 years.
It is true that it's one thing for an adult of 45 or 55 to develop type 2 diabetes and then experience the life-threatening complications of that -- kidney failure, heart attack, stroke -- in their late 50s or 60s. But for a 4-year-old or 6-year-old who's obese to develop Type 2 diabetes at 14 or 16" raises the possibility of devastating complications before reaching age 30.
While national attention is starting to focus on contributors to obesity, including the prevalence of fast-food, soft drinks in schools and cuts in physical education classes, what the researches have presented lack is a clear, comprehensive national vision for addressing the obesity epidemic.
The calculations are a stark contrast with Social Security Administration forecasts for slow improvement in life expectancy, and with projections publicized in 2002 that said the maximum human life span will reach 100 in about six decades.
The effects of obesity are becoming so widespread that American children are under threat from their own fat. A report revealed that obesity is ranked as the most common health problem facing children and shows they are more likely to be overweight, poor and make more suicide attempts than 30 years ago.
Despite the fact that children today are less likely to fall victim to an accident and develop stronger connections to their communities, they are not doing as well as they should considering the country’s advances in education, health and social programs.
According to statistics, 15 percent of U.S. children are overweight and the number continues to steadily rise each year. Studies have also shown that overweight children who grow up to be overweight adults greatly increase their risk of heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer.
Other obesity statistics showed that obesity is coming closer to being the number one cause of death and type 2 diabetes has been beginning to affect children at younger ages.
The study consisted of children aged one to 19 and factored in characteristics such as health, wealth, safety, educational achievement, community connections, family, friends and emotional and spiritual well being.
Overall, the conclusions of the study revealed that the well being of U.S. children have made tremendous improvement, particularly over the years from 1994 to 2000, however the progress has been gradually slowing. Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical activity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents." Statement made by U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, March 2, 2004.
We are all familiar with the rising statistics of childhood obesity. The statement made by the U.S. Surgeon General should give us all a reason to pause. In fact, it is hard to read a newspaper without seeing a headline talking about the "obesity epidemic." While there are many factors contributing to the causes of child and adolescent obesity, some factors are modifiable and some are not. Environmental factors play a significant role in obesity. American lifestyle patterns are influenced by an overabundance of energy-dense food choices and decreased opportunities and motivation for physical activity. Children learn from those around them and families tend to share eating and activity habits. The good news is that evidence shows it is much easier to change a child's eating and exercise habits than it is to alter an adult's.
We recognize it isn't easy to speak to parents about the weight or eating habits of their children. Many parents are likely to view any criticism of their children’s' weight as a criticism of their parenting. But the fact is, while parenting may have something to do with childhood obesity, other factors - such as physical activity or soft drinks or fast food in schools - are often harder to control.
Click here to find out what types of foods are right for you
|
Includes:
Get your FREE DIET PROFILE TODAY
Articles
Online Diet Review Home
3 Day Diet Plans
The Atkins Diet
Atkins vs South Beach
Blood Type Diets
Cabbage Soup Diet
Child Obesity
Compare Diets Online
Diabetic Dieting Tips
Diet and Obesity Statistics
Diet Pills
Diet Patches
Diet Plans
Diet Reviews
Dietary Supplements
Exercise to lose Weight
Fat Burning Diets
Gastric Bypass
Grapefruit Diets
Herbal Nutrition
Herbalife Diets
Low Carb Dieting
Low Fat Recipes
Mediterranean Diet
Natural Weight Loss
Nutritional Supplements
Obesity in Teens
Obesity Surgery
Popular low carb Diets
Rapid Weight Loss Diets
Rawfood Diets
South Beach Diet
South Beach Diet Recipes
Successful Weight Loss
Weight loss and dieting Success
About US
Directory
Advertisers
Partners
Books and Resources
Fatloss for Idiots
The Negative Calorie Diet
Ultimate Weight Loss Revealed