Abstract

Obesity is a national epidemic in the United States (4). Obesity is determined by BMI, dividing height (kg) by weight (m2). These measures are taken to determine weight status which can either be Underweight (lt;18.5 kg/m2), Normal Weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), Overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m2) or Obese (30.0 and above kg/m2). Starting around the 1970s and 80s, we start to see an increase in obesity rates within the United States, as shown in Figure 1. Through the use of NHANES and other national surveys, we see not only increases in obesity but also extreme obesity. Adult obesity was only 13.4%, and child obesity was 5% in 1980. (53, 55). Today, adult obesity has risen to an alarming 39.6%, and childhood obesity has r isen to 18.5%. These figures are1 in every three adults, and 1 in every six children (4, 72). We can see that the South has the highest obesity rates at 33.6%, as displayed in Figure 2. There are disparities in obesity rates depending on your age, gender, race, education, socioeconomic status, and the built environment one lives within. Blacks (46.8%) and Latinos (47.0%) have higher obesity rates than Whites (37.9%) and Asians (12.7%). These numbers are consistently disproportionate across both adults and children (3, 23, 72).