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News
Flash:
U.S.
obesity climbs to 44 million, and rising
The twin epidemics of obesity
and diabetes are still on the rise in the United States.
More
than 44 million Americans were obese and 16.7 million people had
diagnosed diabetes in 2001, according to the study by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
The
researchers found the nation's obesity rate climbed to 20.9
percent in 2001 from 19.8 percent the year before, and the rate of
diagnosed diabetes rose to 7.9 percent from 7.3 percent.
The
study appeared in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association.
"These
two rates are alarming. They have a lot of implications on public
health in this country," said CDC epidemiologist Ali Mokdad.
Obesity
is associated with a variety of illnesses, including diabetes and
high blood pressure.
The
study's findings are based on telephone surveys with a nationally
representative sample of 195,005 adults.
The
study used self-reported data to calculate body-mass index, a
height-to-weight ratio. A BMI of 30 or higher was considered obese
in the study.
Researchers
believe the real rates are even higher.
People
tend to underestimate their weight and overestimate their height
when asked, and the survey did not reach people who are in
institutions such as prisons or nursing homes, or who are too poor
to have a phone.
The
study confirmed previous findings that Mississippi is the state
with the highest rate of obesity and Colorado the lowest. The
highest rate of diagnosed diabetes was in Alabama; the lowest was
in Minnesota.
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