Issue 137 Item 6 Obesity and Diabetes Rates Continue to Rise in US

The prevalence of diabetes rose from 7.3% to 7.9% According to a report published in the January 1st issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, from 2000 to 2001, the prevalence of diabetes rose from 7.3% to 7.9%, an increase of 8.2%. Concurrently, the prevalence of obesity among US adults increased from 19.8% to 20.9%, a relative increase of 5.6%.

The Study, the largest telephone survey of adults in the United States, shows a continuing increase of obesity and diabetes in both sexes, all ages, all races, all educational levels, and all smoking levels, Said, Dr. Ali H. Mokdad and colleagues, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, note.

The authors base their findings on surveys conducted over the telephone with 195,005 randomly selected adults. Participants reported their heights and weights, and whether they had a number of health problems, including diabetes.

The findings indicate that more than 21 million men and 23 million women living in the US are obese. The prevalence of obesity among US adults has increased by 74% since 1991, according to the CDC.

However, the authors caution that the current estimates of obesity are "no doubt substantial underestimates." People who are poor, a condition linked to obesity, may have been underrepresented in the study. Furthermore, people who are overweight tend to underestimate how much they actually weigh, and many overestimate their heights.

"Because of the strong association between overweight and obesity and several well-established risk factors for morbidity and mortality, reversing the obesity epidemic is an urgent priority," the researchers add. JAMA 2002;289:76-79.