SINGLECARE.COM – Obesity is a medical condition characterized by having too much body fat, which can cause health problems and complications.
Learning more about obesity is a helpful first step toward managing the condition and living a healthier life. Let’s take a look at some obesity statistics, ways to treat obesity, and how to help prevent it.
What is obesity?
Obesity is a medical condition that happens when someone has an excessive amount of body fat. Having too much body fat can increase the risk of getting additional health problems, and it can cause health problems of its own.
Healthcare providers can diagnose obesity based on body mass index (BMI), waist circumference measurements, and other symptoms. BMI factors in someone’s height, body weight, age group, and sex. A BMI of 30 or higher often indicates obesity.
Additionally, here are some common symptoms of obesity:
- Being overweight
- Tiredness
- Joint or back pain
- Low self-esteem/low confidence
- Snoring
- Increased sweating
Treatment for obesity often involves exercise, new eating habits, nutritional supplementation, medication, and in some cases, surgery.
How common is obesity?
On average, one out of every three adults is obese, which is about 36% of the population. (Harvard, 2020)
The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity in adults from 2017-18 was 42.4%. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020)
By 2030, an estimated 20% of the world’s population will be obese. (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2016)
About 18.5% of children ages 2 to 19 are considered obese in the United States. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)
Obesity epidemic: How many people are obese in the world?
- An estimated 500 million adults in the world are obese.
- If unaddressed, an estimated 1 billion adults will be obese by 2030.
- More than 25% of U.K. adults are obese.
- Forty-four percent of women in Saudi Arabia are obese.
(Harvard, 2020)
Obesity in America
- 1 out of every 3 U.S. adults is obese. (Harvard, 2020)
- Non-Hispanic black women experience the highest rates of obesity in America at 59%. (Harvard, 2020) … READ MORE.
