The four components of this Population Health Care Delivery Project include:
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Obesity in America: The Epidemic Continues
Taken from: Merrill, R.M. (2017). Introduction to Epidemiology. (p. 116).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
There is increasing evidence that obesity rates in the United States are stabilizing, 1 after
epidemic levels in recent decades, resulting in 35.7% of adults and 16.9% of children
being classified as obese. 1 Obesity (BMI > 30) has reached unprecedented levels, as
has the prevalence of extreme obesity (BMI of 40+), with 6.3% of the adult population
being classified as extremely obese. 2 Although overall obesity rates have increased for
the entire U.S. population in recent decades, there are disparities between certain
subgroups within the population.
Person
o Age
Obesity is most prevalent in middle-aged adults (40 to 59 years old), with
39.5% considered obese. Approximately 30.3% of younger adults (20 to
39 years old) and 35.4% of adults over 60 are considered obese. 1
o Gender
Men and women experience obesity at similar rates with approximately
36% of men and 36% of women being classified as obese. 2
However,
there is a disparity among the sexes when it comes to extreme obesity
rates, 4% of the male population and 8% of the female population have a
BMI of 40 or more. 2
o Race/Ethnicity
The greatest disparity in obesity rates is among races and ethnicities.
Asian Americans experience far lower obesity rates than all other racial
and ethnic groups with only 10.8% being obese.1 In U.S. adults over 20
years of age, 34.3% of Whites, 49.5% of Blacks, and 39.1% of Hispanics
are obese; and 5.7% of Whites, 13.1% of Blacks, and 5% of Hispanics are
extremely obese. 2 Obesity affects 14.3% of White children, 20.2% of Black
children, and 22.4% of Latino children. 3
o Income Level
Obesity rates vary across income levels; those who are of a lower income
bracket tend to have a higher prevalence of obesity than those who are
more affluent. Obesity effects 25.4% of those who make <$36,000 a year,
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23.4% of those who make $36,000 to <$90,000 a year, and 19.4% of
those who make over $90,000 a year. Extreme obesity effects 5.2% of
those who make <$36,000 a year, 2.9% of those who make $36,000 to
<$90,000 a year, and 1.8% of those who make over $90,000 a year. 4
Place
The prevalence of obesity varies widely across geographic locations. Disparities
can be seen across regions, states, and even within states.
The northeastern and southern regions of the United States have markedly
higher obesity rates than the western region. Obesity rates are over 35% in West
Virginia and Mississippi and 30% to <35% in North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma,
Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Delaware. Obesity rates are the lowest (20% to <25%) in Vermont,
Massachusetts, Montana, California, Utah, Hawaii, and Colorado. 5
Rural regions generally have a higher prevalence of obesity than urban regions.
Approximately 39.6% of rural adults are obese compared to the 33.4% of urban
adults who are obese—a disparity of 6.2%. 6
Time Trends
Since the 1960s, the prevalence of obesity in American adults has more than
doubled. In 1962, 13.4% of the adult population was obese and about 1% was
extremely obese. Today, 35.7% of the adult population is obese and about 6% is
extremely obese. Adolescent and childhood obesity rates began to increase in
the 1980s, and now hover at approximately 17%. 2
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1. Obesity Rates & Trends Overview. Annual report of The State of Obesity.
http://stateofobesity.org/obesity-rates-trends-overview/. Accessed July 10, 2015.
2. Overweight and Obesity Statistics. Report of the National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The National Institutes of Health, October
2012. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-
statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-statistics.aspx. Accessed July 10, 2015.
3. Special Report: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity. The State of Obesity.
http://stateofobesity.org/disparities/. Accessed July 10, 2015.
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4. Health Guides: Obesity in America. Public Health.org.
http://www.publichealth.org/public-awareness/obesity/affected/. Accessed July
10, 2015.
5. Obesity Prevalence Maps. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
September 9, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/preva-lence-maps.html>.
Accessed July 10, 2015.
6. Pease, J. Obesity higher in rural America than in urban parts of the country, UF
researchers find. News, University of Florida, 2012.
http://news.ufl.edu/archive/2012/09/obesity-higher-in-rural-america-than-in-
urban-parts-of-the-country-uf-researchers-colleagues-find.html. Accessed July
10, 2015.