Then                                                                   Now

The study was based on a survey of more than 3.5 million American adults from 1993 to 2008, and ranged in questions regarding health habits, poor health days, and perceived quality of life.  In the study, smoking declined amongst participants by 18.5%, but obesity increased by a whopping 85%!  Because of this, years added to life expectancy because of smoking reduction (good) are cancelled out by increasing obesity rates (bad).   While we should applaud anti-smoking campaigns, we have another big public health danger in our midst.

Just how bad are overweight and obesity rates in America?  Today, more than 33.3% of Americans are obese.  A total of 66.7% of Americans are either overweight or obese.  To put these numbers into some perspective, in 1980, 15% of Americans were obese, and if you take a look at the graph below, it is clear that obesity trends were steady before 1980.  Not anymore.  

                                                                             *data from CDC

Obesity rates are increasing…really, really quickly.  At this rate, it is reported that an expected 45% — almost half! — of Americans will be obese by 2020.  Can you imagine?   Seriously, take a minute and just imagine the country in 2020 with almost half of its citizens being at major risk for:

• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• arthritis
• sleep apnea
• stroke
• type 2 diabetes

On top of these risks, don’t forget the years of quality life lost.  The trends are grim.  

Both smoking and obesity are preventable.  Anti-smoking campaigns helped reduce smoking.  What do you think it will take to reduce obesity rates?

“Hungry” to know more?  Sites Earth Fare visited for this post:
(1) http://tinyurl.com/l4ddz9 - F as in Fat 2009 Report by by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
(2) http://tinyurl.com/ydqjc5e- “Hazards of Obesity Now Rival Smoking in U.S.” (U.S. News & World Report)
(3) http://tinyurl.com/y8ps2a2 – “America’s Greatest Health Threat: Obesity” (BusinessWeek)
(4) http://tinyurl.com/yk5wydk- “Obesity Epidemic Cancels Out Anti-Smoking Gains” (NPR)
(5) http://tinyurl.com/meshol – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  page on Overweight and Obesity