CDC Data Suggest Obesity Rates Leveling Off

Two recent studies have reportedly suggested that obesity rates in America have remained constant for at least five years among men and closer to 10 years for women and children. Using data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers concluded that although approximately 32 percent of men and 35 percent of women are obese, “the increases in the prevalence of obesity previously observed do not appear to be continuing at the same rate over the past 10 years, particularly for women and possibly for men.” In addition, a separate study apparently found a similar plateau in obesity rates for children.

“Right now we’ve halted the progress of the obesity epidemic,” William Dietz, CDC’s Director of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, was quoted as saying. “The data are really promising. That said, I don’t think we have in place the kind of policy or environmental changes needed to reverse this epidemic just yet.” Dietz, who theorized that the findings reflected an increased awareness of the nation’s obesity problem, told a news source that he hoped the obesity data would follow what happened with smoking rates. See The New York Times, January 14, 2010.