Obesity information-it starts with the letters NHANES

August 5, 2009

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released information concerning the prevalence and costs of the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States. Some of the most critical information concerning the weight of the nation is collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which takes actual measurements of a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.

For the most recent information on obesity and overweight, please visit the Health E-Stat report at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overweight_adult.htm.

For a more general overview, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm.

As always, the NCHS press office can be reached at 301-458-4800.

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Posted by Megan Cox

New Health E-Stat integrates obesity and overweight prevalence data

January 14, 2009

Results from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 32.7 percent of U.S. adults 20 years and older are overweight, 34.3 percent are obese and 5.9 percent are extremely obese. Additional data as well as figures and tables can be found by visiting the following Web addres: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overweight_adult.htm

Leave a Comment » | Diet & Nutrition, extreme obesity, Health Characteristics, height and weight tables, morbid obesity, NHANES, Obesity, Overweight | Permalink
Posted by Megan Cox

More Obesity Resources

July 18, 2007

We’ve written a couple of times on the subject of overweight and obesity. However, some of our research has been published in scholarly journals rather than on our website.

The journal Obesity: Racial and Ethnic Differences in Secular Trends for Childhood BMI, Weight, and Height

The journal Gastroenterology: The Epidemiology of Obesity. More data on overweight and at-risk of overweight in children.

The Journal of the American Medical Association. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity.

The journal Clinical Nutrition and Obesity. Childhood Overweight and Family Income in the United States, 1999-2004.

Leave a Comment » | children, extreme obesity, JAMA, morbid obesity, National Center for Health Statistics, NHANES, Obesity, Overweight | Permalink
Posted by billcrews

Morbid Obesity

June 13, 2007

Overweight and obesity data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the National Center for Health Statistics show obesity increasing among Americans of all ages.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index  (BMI) of 30 or greater.

There is a subset of obesity called morbid or extreme obesity which is defined as having a BMI of 40 or greater or weighing in excess of 100 pounds of one’s ideal weight. The National Center for Health Statistics does not track that number.

 However several of our scientists, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) do report on this particular condition.  For the period 2003-2004 almost 5 percent of adults were extremely obese.

There JAMA articles can be found here and here.

Leave a Comment » | extreme obesity, JAMA, morbid obesity, National Center for Health Statistics, NHANES, Obesity, Overweight | Permalink
Posted by billcrews