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Weight Loss Industry Fact Sheet

Obesity: The Epidemic

In 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ranked obesity as the number one health threat facing America. Obesity currently results in an estimated 400,000 deaths annually1 and costs nearly $122.9 billion.2

Obesity increases a person's risk for developing several serious obesity-related health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, thyroid disease, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and diabetes. In addition, childhood obesity affects more than 15 percent of the population under 18 years old classified as overweight.3

Obesity By the Numbers4

  • Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight (BMI ≥ 25, which includes those who are obese).
    • All adults (20+ years old): 129.6 million (64.5 percent)
    • Women (20+ years old): 64.5 million (61.9 percent)
    • Men (20+ years old): 65.1 million (67.2 percent)
  • Nearly one-third of U.S. adults are obese (BMI ≥ 30).
    • All adults (20+ years old): 61.3 million (30.5 percent)
    • Women (20+ years old): 34.7 million (33.4 percent)
    • Men (20+ years old): 26.6 million (27.5 percent)
  • Less than half of U.S. adults have a healthy weight (BMI ≥ 18.5 to < 25).
    • All adults (20-74 years old): 67.3 million (33.5 percent)
    • Women (20-74 years old): 36.7 million (35.3 percent)
    • Men (20-74 years old): 30.6 million (31.8 percent)
  • Approximately 15.3 percent of children (ages 6-11) and 15.5 percent of adolescents (ages 12-19) were overweight in 2000.
    • An additional 15 percent of children and 14.9 percent of adolescents were at risk for overweight (BMI for age between the 85th and 95th percentile).5

The Prevalence of Overweight and Obese Adults

The prevalence of overweight and obese adults has steadily increased among genders, all ages and all racial/ethnic groups.6

  • From 1960 to 2000, the prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 to < 30) increased from 31.5 to 33.6 percent in U.S. adults aged 20 to 74.7
  • The prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30) during this same time period more than doubled from 13.3 to 30.9 percent, with most of this rise occurring in the past 20 years.8
  • From 1988 to 2000, the prevalence of extreme obesity (BMI ≥ 40) increased from 2.9 to 4.7 percent, up from 0.8 percent in 1960.9, 10
  • In 1991, four states had obesity rates of 15 percent or higher, and none had obesity rates above 16 percent. By 2000, every state except Colorado had obesity rates of 15 percent or more, and 22 states had obesity rates of 20 percent or more.11
  • The age-adjusted prevalence of combined overweight and obesity (BMI ≥ 25) in racial/ethnic minorities–especially minority women–is generally higher than in whites in the United States.12
    • Non-Hispanic Black women: 77.3 percent
    • Mexican American women: 71.9 percent
    • Non-Hispanic White women: 57.3 percent
    • Non-Hispanic Black men: 60.7 percent
    • Mexican American men: 74.7 percent
    • Non-Hispanic White men: 67.4 percent

The Health Risks Associated With Increased Weight

  • Obesity and Mortality
    • Approximately 300,000 adult deaths in the United States each year are attributable to unhealthy dietary habits and physical inactivity or sedentary behavior.13
    • Obese individuals have a 50 to 100 percent increased risk of death from all causes, compared with normal-weight individuals (BMI 20-25).14
    • Life expectancy of a moderately obese person could be shortened by 2 to 5 years.15
    • White men between 20 and 30 years old with a BMI > 45 could shorten their life expectancy by 13 years; white women in the same category could lose up to 8 years of life.16
  • Diabetes
    • Among people diagnosed with type 2 (noninsulin-dependent) diabetes, 67 percent have a BMI > 27 and 46 percent have a BMI > 30.17
      • About 17 million people in the U.S. have type 2 diabetes, accounting for more than 90 percent of diabetes cases.18
      • An additional 20 million have impaired glucose tolerance, sometimes called pre-diabetes, which is a strong risk factor for developing diabetes later in life.19
      • An estimated 70 percent of diabetes risk in the U.S. can be attributed to excess weight.20

Since 1983, Jenny Craig has provided weight management services to more than 5 million clients worldwide.

1 Mokdad, A., et. al., Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000. JAMA, 2004; 291:1238-1245.

2 National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. "Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity: The Economic Costs." http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm.

3 Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:1728–1732.

4 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control. National Center for Health Statistics. 1999–2000 National Health and Nutriiton Examination Survey (NHANES). http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm

5 Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:1728–1732.

6 Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, Dietz WH, Vinicor F, Bales VS, Marks JS. Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors, 2001. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003;289(1):76–79.

7 Pastor PN, Makuc DM, Reuben C, Xia H. Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. Health, United States, 2002. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2002.

8 Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:1723-1727.

9 Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ, Johnson CL. Overweight and obesity in the United States: Prevalence and trends, 1960–1994. International Journal of Obesity. 1998;22:39–47.

10 Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:1723–1727.

11 Mokdad AH, Bowman BA, Ford ES, Vinicor F, Marks JS, Koplan JP. The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2001;286(10):1195–1200.

12 Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002;288:1723–1727.

13 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, 2001.

14 Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults–The Evidence Report. National Institutes of Health. Obesity Research. 1998;6 (suppl)2:51S–209S.

15 Fontaine KR, Redden DT, Wang C, Westfall AO, Allison DB. Years of life lost due to obesity. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003;289(2):187–93.

16 Ibid.

17 Personal communication from Maureen I. Harris, NIDDK/NIH, to Susan Z. Yanovski, NIDDK/NIH, 1999.

18 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes fact sheet: General information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2000. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002.

19 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diabetes Prevention Program Meeting Summary. August 2001. Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee

20 Ibid.