America faces an obesity epidemic. 68% of adults and nearly one-third of children are considered at least overweight.
Scary Childhood Obesity Facts:
- 8 out of 10 children who are overweight at age 10-15 will be obese as adults
- In 1980, 5% of children ages 2-5 were obese; by 2008 10.4% of children in that age group were obese
- In 1980 6.5% of children age 6-11 were obese; by 2008 19.6% of children in that age group were obese.
- 5% of children age 12-18 were obese in 1980, but by 2008 that percentage had nearly quadrupled to 18% of children.
Which country has the most fat people as a percentage of the population?
The U.S. is the fatest country in the world, followed by Mexico, U.K., Slovakia, and Greece. Here is how the U.S. ranks compared to the top five fattest countries in the world:
- U.S.: 74.1% of people are overweight and 30% of those are obese.
- Mexico: 68.1% of people are overweight and 24% of those are obese.
- U.K.: 63.8% of people are overweight, and 23% of those are obese.
- Slovakia: 56.3% of people are overweight, and 22.4% of those are obese.
- Greece: 68.5% of people are overweight, and 22% of those are obese.
Obesity is costly, not only to the people who suffer from it, but to the nation as a whole. It is estimated that a total of $117,000,000,000.00 ($117 billion) in medical expenses result when the cost of all the diseases caused by obesity are combined. Productivity is also reduced, costing the business world approximately $3.9 billion dollars. This figure includes the cost to the workplace of Type 2 diabetes ($98 million) and heart disease ($8.8 million).
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