Obesity in the United States shows a notable increase since 1990, and affects all ages (Illustrative Image Infobae).
According to a powerful new study, nearly three-quarters of American adults They have overweight or obese children. The results have broad implications for the country’s medical and health costs, which faces a growing burden of weight-related diseases.
The study, published Thursday in The Lancetreveals the striking rise in obesity rates nationwide since 1990 (when just over half of adults were overweight or obese) and shows how more people are becoming overweight or obese at younger ages than in the past .
Both conditions can increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and shorten life expectancy.
The study authors documented increases in overweight and obesity rates at all ages. They were especially alarmed by the sharp increase among childrenof which more than one in three is overweight or obese. If strong action is not taken, they predict, the number of overweight and obese people will continue to rise and reach almost 260 million people by 2050.
“I would consider it an epidemic,” he said. Marie Ngaffiliated associate professor of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Washington and co-author of the new article. Dr Ng and her co-authors wrote that existing policies have failed to do enough to address the crisis, adding that “major reform” is needed to prevent it from getting worse.
The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation warns about the urgent need for health reforms (Illustrative image Infobae)
” Much more attention and much more investment will be needed than we are currently giving to the problem,” said Dr. Sarah Armstrong professor of pediatrics and population health sciences at the Duke Universitywho did not participate in the study.
The article defined adults with “overweight” as those 25 years of age or older with a body mass index equal to or greater than 25and “obese” adults such as those with a IMC equal to or greater than 30. The authors recognized that BMI is an imperfect measure that cannot reflect variations in the body structure of the population. But from a scientific perspective, experts said, BMI is correlated with other measures of body fat and is a practical tool for studying it at the population level.
The authors observed a steady increase of the proportion of people who are overweight or obese during the last three decades. The obesity rate, in particular, has increased sharply: it doubled among adults between 1990 and 2021 to more than 40%, and almost tripled, to 29%, among girls and women aged 15 to 24.
The consequences are serious: a report from Joint Republican Economic Committee published this year predicted that obesity will generate excess medical spending of up to $9.1 trillion over the next 10 years. Obesity increases the likelihood of numerous metabolic diseases and their associated complications, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, heart attacks and strokes. It is also linked to infertility, cancer and worse mental health outcomes.
During the last 50 years, overweight and obesity rates have tripled in the American region (Illustrative Image Infobae)
The report comes at a time when scientific understanding of the causes of obesity and how best to treat it is evolving. While the idea previously prevailed that obesity was simply a problem of calories in and calories out, and that people simply needed to eat less and exercise more to lose weight, the reality is much more nuanced, said Dr. .
“Obesity is a consequence of genetic, physiological and environmental interactions,” he stated. “It is not the fault of any particular individual who suffers from disease “.
There are many potential factors behind the skyrocketing rates, including the wide availability of ultra-processed foods, challenges in accessing fresh fruits and vegetables, and an increase in sedentary online activity. More research is needed to understand the potential effect of environmental factors, such as exposure to microplastics, that may be altering our microbiomes, Dr. Armstrong said.
Many social factors that influence health outcomes, such as food insecurity, access to transportationIncome, employment and education level also play a role, he said, especially for Black, Hispanic, Indigenous and low-income people, who experience obesity at higher rates than white and middle-class people.
The sheer volume of factors is also what makes it so difficult to address. “We recognize that there is a lot that goes beyond the individual and what can happen in the application room,” said Dr. Sarah Hamplprofessor of pediatrics at Children’s Mercy Kansas City and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.
Although imperfect, body mass index is used worldwide to analyze overweight. Experts defend its use as an effective scientific tool to measure body fat in populations (Illustrative Image Infobae)
Concerns for children Experts say the growing proportion of obese teenagers is of particular concern. Almost half of American adolescents and young adults (ages 15 to 24) are overweight or obese, compared to 29 percent in 1990.
Children who are obese are more likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol that leads to plaque buildup in the arteries, type 2 diabetes, and fat in the liver that causes inflammation.
“We’re seeing these things come up more and more frequently, even when kids are still kids,” said Dr. Armstrong . These children are more likely to suffer from obesity and related chronic diseases in adulthood, said Dr. Emily D’Agostino professor of orthopedics and social epidemiologist at Duke.
The research documented a particularly sharp rise in obesity rates (reaching 29 percent in 2021, up from 10 percent in 1990) among girls and young women aged 15 to 24.
Dr. Hampl said these findings are worrying for both young women and their future children. High maternal BMI before conception, excessive weight gain during pregnancy, and high birth weight have been shown to increase the risk of obesity in childhood.
GLP-1 drugs, such as Wegovy, are promising but their high cost limits their mass access (Illustrative Image Infobae)
Beyond the individual At the individual level, Dr. Hampl said, addressing obesity may require a combination of lifestyle modification, medications and surgery, although not all patients will need all of those things.
One challenge, he said, is coverage of limited insurance for treatments that are known to work, such as intensive health and lifestyle treatment, as well as weight loss medications and bariatric surgery.
The new GLP-1 drugssuch as Wegovy and Zepbound, show promise, but their long-term effects have not yet been studied, Dr. Ng said. To have an impact on public health, he said, these drugs will have to be widely accessible, something difficult given how expensive they currently are.
“It will not be the magic bullet to solve the problem,” Dr Ng said.
Structural changes are needed to reverse trends that affect the entire population, he said, noting that subsidies to Healthy foods and taxes on sugary drinks are examples of local or state policies that would have a clear impact on diets. Greater regulation of the nutritional content of foods and the marketing of unhealthy foods could also have an effect, Dr Ng said, but would require coordination at the federal level.
Dr Ng said obesity rates are reaching a saturation point and that the magnitude of the increases is slowing. “If you think about obesity being up to 80 percent in adults,” he said, “then there really isn’t much more that can be done.”
