Obesity Rates In U.S. Have Leveled Off
Government Says Rate Of Disease In Adults Has Plateaued, At Least Temporarily
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(CBS/AP)
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A comprehensive survey by the federal government that includes physical examinations shows about 33 percent of adult man and 35 percent of U.S. women were obese in 2005-2006.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that's more than 72 million people.
The CDC says in the report released today that the new rates were slightly higher than the 31 percent and 33 percent reported in the 2003-2004 survey. But health officials say the increases are NOT considered statistically significant.
The adult obesity rate has generally been climbing since 1980, when it was 15 percent. There have been occasional plateaus, as occurred between 1999-2000 and 2001-2002.
In the new report, obesity was most common in adults aged 40 to 59.
There were large differences by race for women - the female obesity rates in the 40 to 59 age group were 39 percent in white women, 51 percent in Mexican-American women and 51 percent in black women.
The CDC says there are are NO racial or ethnic disparities in the male obesity rates.
The report also found that about a third of obese adults had NOT been told by a doctor or health care provider that they were overweight, although women heard such an assessment more often than men.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."





Obesity may, in a very small number of individuals, be due to some form of disease. However, The millions of waddling, overstuffed, fatties that eat everything they can shove down their throats, make up the obese population that I say don''t care at all about their disgusting appearance and poor health. I have no empathy for these self-indulgent hogs.
This is a condition directly resulting from lack of self control. Don''t tell me I don''t know anything about it. I have lived a life and seen hundreds of obese inhaling the kinds of food everyone knows is unhealthy. They don''t care and I''ve heard more than one tell me that "life is too short to have to deprive yourself of a few pleasures." So be it. Fat is ugly, repulsive and no one wants to be seen with a fat person. What is sad, that they breed more fat kids who have to go through the humiliation of being obese during their school years. Obesity engenders obesity.
Posted by shanev137 at 03:44 AM : Nov 29, 2007
My theory is that they''re dying off and we''ve hit the replacement stage - sort of an equilibrium. The more fat people there are, the more die of obesity-related diseases and eventually those who are becoming obese are just replacing the obese who have died. So it looks like a plateau.
I''ve found most people do not want to do the work required to truly be fit. It''s hard, and people don''t like hard so they just sit around and complain about it.
I''ve been anorexic and to compare my struggle with someone who indulges too much and has no discipline is insulting.
Yep,now everyone looks the same...
Quit talking about something you know not of. It is far more than what you stated. You obviously have never heard of something of something called empathy. Obesity is a very emotional rollercoaster. Many are caused by eating disorders. It is far more complicated then you could ever comprehend. You better hope that you never have to face anything that causes you to struggle so much in every aspect of your life and have other people take that approach with you.
how about just enjoying life while we''re here and trying to leave the place if not better than then at least in the same condition we found it? i guess it''s just too much to ask.
- by drivelphobe November 28, 2007 6:31 PM EST
- Obesity causes infertility. It''s the only positive side-effect.
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