Rate of Obesity Among Children and Young Adults in US at Nearly 13 Percent, According to a New Study
United States also one of the countries with the highest number of obese adults
Obesity in the United States of America is prevalent, and a new study is providing solid numbers to give people an idea of what is going on.
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is working to draw attention to the obesity levels in the country, particularly pertaining to certain demographics.
According to the study, the rate of "age-standardized childhood obesity" in the U.S. was found to be at 12.7 percent.
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Serving to make that number more significant is the fact that it was the highest among the 20 most populated countries in 2015.
That is not all, as the study also revealed that the U.S. and China had the most obese adults.
So, what do these figures mean and how should people react to them?
Again, according to the study, "high BMI contributed to 4.0 million deaths" globally, where BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is something that is associated to obesity. It is what the doctors use to tell if a person is underweight, overweight or falls within a healthy weight range.
Cardiovascular diseases in particular have proven to be quite deadly among obese individuals, while Diabetes has caused more than its share of problems as well.
High BMI has also been associated to disabilities, so the quality of life for obese individuals may be affected significantly too.
Taking into account the findings of the study, it would certainly seem as though urgent action is needed. The study points to "the need for implementation of multicomponent interventions" to address the issue of obesity.
Just as before, encouraging people to exercise and follow balanced diets will help, but there are other things that can be done as well.
Recently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force laid out recommendations for obese children aged six years and older to be referred to a behavioral intervention program of at least 26 hours' duration to aid in weight loss, Medscape reported.
Other steps will likely need to be taken in order to significantly reduce the rates of obesity.
More news about obesity in the U.S. should be made available soon.
