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Adult Obesity Facts

cdc.gov

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Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#11

Post by dantheman »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6
rjbwork wrote: post #2

We've designed our cities, suburbs, food industry, and society such that the average person is at least overweight, nearing obese. If the average person suffers from what should be an anomaly, perhaps it is less a personal failing than a societal failing and we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome.

> we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome What would this look like policywise?

Stop tariffs on sugar and end subsidies to corn that lead to high fructose corn syrup.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#12

Post by rjbwork »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6
rjbwork wrote: post #2

We've designed our cities, suburbs, food industry, and society such that the average person is at least overweight, nearing obese. If the average person suffers from what should be an anomaly, perhaps it is less a personal failing than a societal failing and we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome.

> we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome What would this look like policywise?

Walkable and bikable cities and suburbs. Increased transit. Reduced working hours so that people don't feel the need to choose between health and survival and stress. Getting the garbage out of our supermarkets. Not subsidizing massive amounts of corn syrup and sugar.

I really could go on.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#13

Post by sharkmerry »

yehudalouis wrote: post #3

Nitpicking is pointless here, but the phrasing was immediately confusing to me. "US Adults are 42.4% obese" leads me to believe that all US adults are 42.4% of the way to becoming obese, where as in actuality it appears that 42.4% of US adults are obese.

the first line on the link is a little more clear

> The US obesity prevalence was 42.4% in 2017 – 2018.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#14

Post by dragontamer »

https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/obesity-and-covid-19.html

Obesity is also highly correlated to covid19 hospitalizations and deaths.

-----------

IIRC, slightly overweight (ex: BMI 26 or so) might be better for certain diseases... as having a layer of "emergency fat" for your body to consume during a sickness / illness is beneficial... with respect to a disease. Its worse for long-term health however.

However, "Slightly overweight" is also a condition for strong athletes, as muscle is far more dense than fat. So many strong and healthy athletes are technically overweight (but incredibly healthy). So IIRC, there's a bit of confounding going on in the overweight category.

Once we start getting to the obese category (BMI 30+), the number of muscular people in that group diminishes, and the vast majority of Americans in that group are in fact, unhealthy and sedentary individuals. (I'm sure there's some healthy boxers or wrestlers who are BMI 30+, but they'd be in the gross minority of BMI 30+ individuals in this country)

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#15

Post by streptomycin »

sharkmerry wrote: post #8

Is this solely done based on BMI? Some of you may know that BMI can be wildly inaccurate. (this guy is technically obese on BMI scale - https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=153207891 ) I wonder if we would find better connections between disease and "weight" with body fat % or similar measure.

Yes, BMI overestimates obesity in bodybuilders, but there aren't many bodybuilders, so that has roughly no impact on population statistics.

On a population level, BMI actually underestimates obesity https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/bmi-underestimates-pr... so the real obesity percentage is probably even worse than 42.4%

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#16

Post by xyzzy21 »

rjbwork wrote: post #2

We've designed our cities, suburbs, food industry, and society such that the average person is at least overweight, nearing obese. If the average person suffers from what should be an anomaly, perhaps it is less a personal failing than a societal failing and we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome.

Very true. When it's easier to drive across the street or down the block than walk, you will be less healthy.

Part of what I loved about living in Asia (Taipei, Tokyo, et al.) was that public transit required walking to, between and from stations/stops. It's not much but it's just enough.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#17

Post by BigW1lly »

echelon wrote: post #7

We need to stop putting sugar in everything. That's the root cause of most of our problems. It's not just industrialized preprocessed and prepackaged food, because restaurants are guilty of this too. I don't buy the "cars and suburbs" as a root cause argument. People would be less sedentary if they felt healthier and more energetic. Sugar is the problem.

ahem Subway

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#19

Post by sam0x17 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6
rjbwork wrote: post #2

We've designed our cities, suburbs, food industry, and society such that the average person is at least overweight, nearing obese. If the average person suffers from what should be an anomaly, perhaps it is less a personal failing than a societal failing and we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome.

> we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome What would this look like policywise?

Legislation banning overly processed foods. Better school lunches. etc.

Pick a "first world" country with much better BMI. Copy all of their regulations surrounding food and agriculture.

Re: Adult Obesity Facts

#20

Post by boomskats »

rjbwork wrote: post #12
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we should try to fix the societal problems generating the poor outcome What would this look like policywise?

Walkable and bikable cities and suburbs. Increased transit. Reduced working hours so that people don't feel the need to choose between health and survival and stress. Getting the garbage out of our supermarkets. Not subsidizing massive amounts of corn syrup and sugar. I really could go on.

But who is going to lobby for any of those things?
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