Obesity Rates For Elderly, Middle Aged On The Rise Your Health ...

From The Huffington Post?..

Here?s one more reason to dread aging: older Americans are seeing a greater increase in obesity rates, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Data from nearly 600,000 U.S. adults showed that people aged 18 and older were more likely to be obese than they were in 2008, according to the Gallup survey. Researchers noted a significant jump among adults in their 40s, 70s and 80s.

?Middle-aged adults and advanced seniors were the most likely to see an increase in the percentage of people in that age group with higher obesity rates than four years ago,? the national polling firm said.

?Most Americans who are over the age of 35 are now significantly more likely to be obese than those who were that same age four years ago,? it added.

Gallup interviewed 579,210 U.S. adults in 2008 and again between January 1 and September 30, using respondents? self-reported height and weight to calculate their body mass index, or BMI.

BMI, though sometimes criticized as a measure, is widely used to determine whether someone has a healthy weight. Scores of 30 or higher are considered obese, while those between 25 and 29 are ?overweight.? A BMI of between 18.5 and 24 are deemed ?normal.?

For example, a 5-foot, 6-inch woman who weighs 186 pounds or more would qualify as obese. A man who is 6-feet tall and weighs 221 pounds would also be considered obese.

U.S. obesity rates have been climbing for years, and about two-thirds of Americans are already too heavy.

But while federal and local authorities have waged very public campaigns to tackle childhood obesity, Gallup?s findings shed light on the issue for older Americans.

Extra pounds can increase the risk of serious diseases such as diabetes and chronic heart disease, contributing to soaring U.S. healthcare costs.

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Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=6043

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