American Obesity Epidemic Continues
The National Center for Health Statistics released in October, 2017 revealed obesity rates continue to climb. Around 1999, rates began to increase at an astonishing pace. In 2010, the government’s “Healthy People 2020” initiative included reducing obesity in the US to 14.5% among youth and 30.5% among adults by 2020. Despite these efforts, obesity rates have actually increased to the highest ever. At this time, almost 40% of adults and 19% of youth are considered obese. The good news is that youth rates appear to be somewhat more stable in recent years, but it will require another 4 years of data to be certain of the trend.
While the obesity rates are high overall, the rates are disproportionate between racial groups with Hispanic adults and non-Hispanic black adults having higher rates than non-Hispanic white and Asian adults. This variance between racial groups is not new, but remains an area of concern.
Everyone from health care providers to policy makers to parents will be involved in changing this trend. While government and health care officials review policies and programs, parents are on the front lines. Making choices like eating nutritious meals together rather than getting fast food and participating in family activities are great ways to help keep the whole family healthy and teach good habits that will prevent obesity from developing later on.
Your doctor of chiropractic can offer information about proper nutrition and suggestions for activities to help your family live a happy and healthy lifestyle. As always, prevention is the best, but if obesity has already been detected in your family, your chiropractor can help you devise a plan to lose weight and set realistic goals to keep you motivated and on track to better health. Click here to find a doctor of chiropractic near you.
SOURCE: “Obesity among all US adults reaches all-time high.” Victoria Larned. CNN. October 13, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/health/adult-obesity-increase-study/index.html