In 1980, 15 percent of American adults were obese. Today, that number has doubled.
Trust for America's Health, a non-profit group, has just issued its seventh report on obesity in America.
Jeff Levi is one of the authors:
"In 1991, there wasn't a single state that had an adult obesity rate over 20 percent," said Jeff Levi. "Now 38 states have adult obesity rates of more than 25 percent."
Since last year, four more states reported adult obesity rates of more than 30 percent - meaning that at least 30 percent of their populations are obese.
"There are many explanations," he said. "One, is we are just much less active than we used to be. We've built our society around cars, around being inactive."
Studies show a link between time on a computer or in front of a TV and obesity.
Other studies point to high calorie fast food.
But Levi says there are other risk factors.
"Obesity is very much associated with poverty," said Levi.
Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish are expensive. And there are few grocery stores in low income neighborhoods. That means poor people find it difficult to buy healthful food.
"And poor people tend to live in neighborhoods that are less safe and have fewer opportunities for physical activity," he said. "So the combination of eating more calorie-dense food and having fewer opportunities for physical activity, that's what creates this obesity epidemic."
Levi praises the Obama Administration, and First Lady Michelle Obama, for trying to change eating and exercise habits.
"It's threatening our children," said Michelle Obama. "It's threatening our families and, more importantly, it's threatening the future of this nation."
The first lady has traveled the country in her campaign against childhood obesity.
Last year, the Obama Administration pledged more than $400 million to help bring more grocery stores to underserved communities nationwide.
The obesity crisis means more spending on healthcare.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that obesity costs at least $147 billion annually, and that figure is based on data from 2006.
Kenneth Thorpe of Emory University expects the number to go even higher.
"It's the single biggest driver over the past 10 to 15 years of why healthcare has risen," said Kenneth Thorpe. "We do have this explosion of chronic diseases related to obesity."
Diabetes, high blood pressure heart disease and cancer are linked to obesity.
Health policy experts and doctors hope the reports will help Americans change their lifestyle.
相关中文报道:
美国健康信托基金执行干事李维(Jeff Levi)在星期二举行的记者会上说,"回顾1991年,并不是很久之前,没有一个州的肥胖者比例超过20%。在相对比较短的时期内,出现了戏剧性变化。"
他说,"肥胖已经成为全国最大的公共卫生危机之一。......过去二十年来肥胖率升高是美国医疗费高涨的主要因素之一,因为四分之一的医疗开支都同肥胖有关。"
密西西比州连续六年成为最肥的州,成年人肥胖率高达33.8%,阿拉巴马和田纳西并列第二,肥胖率都占31.6%。美国最肥胖的前十个州其余也集中在南方,它们是西维吉尼亚、路易斯安那、俄克拉荷马、肯塔基、阿肯色、南卡罗来纳,密西根和北卡罗来纳并列第十名(29.4%)。
该报告还发现,80%的美国人认为,儿童肥胖是美国一个日益严重的全国性问
题
快递公司问题件快递公司问题件货款处理关于圆的周长面积重点题型关于解方程组的题及答案关于南海问题
;50%的人认为,儿童肥胖问题很严重,现在应该花钱解决这个问题。84%的家长认为,自己的孩子体重正常;但研究显示,约三分之一儿童和青少年(1200多万人)肥胖或体重超重。