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Facts & Figures

The Shape of the Nation: Fast Facts on Americans’ Health

With a passion for health and wellness, Dr. Kushner has been helping dieters achieve their weight loss goals for over 25 years. He provides Diet.com users with personal advice and answers to their health questions, and maintains a popular online blog, "Diet Talk with the Doc".

Overweight and Obesity

Sixty-two percent of all Americans age 20 and older are overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity among adults has increased more than 75 percent since 1991.¹
Overweight and obesity are highest among African-American (77.2%) and Mexican-American (71.7%) females, and Mexican-American (73.1%) males. ²
There are more than 9 million overweight children between the ages of 6 and 19. The incidence of overweight among children has doubled -- and among teens has tripled -- since 1980. ^3,4
Between 70 and 80 percent of overweight children and adolescents continue to be overweight or become obese as adults. ⁵
Poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and being overweight can lead to complications such as elevated blood cholesterol and blood pressure, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and joint problems, asthma, Type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, and sleep apnea. ⁶

Eating Habits and Trends

Research suggests that food eaten away from home, especially fast food, tends to be higher in fat, saturated fat and sodium and lower in fiber. ⁷
Americans’ spending on fast food increased 18-fold over the last 30 years, from $6 billion to $110 billion annually. ⁸
During a 15-year study, adults who ate fast food more than twice per week gained 10 pounds more than those who ate fast food less than once a week. ⁹
Between 1977 and 1997, adult consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increased by 61%. ¹⁰

Internet Support of Weight Loss

In Web-based weight loss programs, participants receiving tailored expert support¹¹ or a structured behavioral treatment program¹² showed significantly greater weight loss than those relying on Internet information alone.
Dieters assigned to an internet-based weight maintenance program sustained comparable weight loss over 18 months compared with those who continued to meet face-to-face. ¹³
Supplementing a dynamic, socially supportive Internet weight-loss treatment with monthly in-person meetings did not result in greater weight losses over 12 months than those relying on Internet support alone. ¹⁴
Adding e-mail counseling to a basic Internet weight loss intervention program significantly improved weight loss in adults at risk of diabetes. ¹⁵

Fitness

The majority of American adults (54.1%) do not engage in the recommended minimum amount of physical activity (30 minutes per day of moderate activity, 5 days per week or 20 minutes per day of vigorous activity, 3 days per week, as recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association). ^16,17

¹ Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006.
² Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, Caroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among US Children, Adolescents and Adults, 1999-2002. Journal of the American Medical Association 2004. 291:2847-2850.
³ Hedley AA, et al.
⁴ Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and Trends in Overweight Among US Children and Adolescents, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association 2002. 288:1728-1732.
⁵ USDHHS 2001
⁶ United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. USDHHS 2001.
⁷ A National at Risk: Obesity in the United States. American Heart Association, 2005.
⁸ Schlosser E. Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
⁹ Pereira MA, Kartashov AL, Ebbeling CB, et al. Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance [the CARDIA study]: 15-year prospective analysis. Lancet 2005;365:4-5.
¹⁰ Schultze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS. Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. Journal of the American Medical Association 2004;292:927-34.
¹¹ Rothert K, Strecher VJ, Doyle LA, Caplan WM, Joyce JS, Jimison HB, Karm LM, Mims AD, Roth MA. Web-based weight management programs in an integrated health care setting: a randomized, controlled trial. Obesity 2006;14(2):266-72.
¹² Tate DF, Wing RR, Winett RA. Using Internet technology to deliver a behavioral weight loss program. Journal of the American Medical Association 2001;285(9):1172-7.
¹³ Harvey-Berino J, Pintauro S, Buzzell P, Gold EC. Effect of Internet support on the long-term maintenance of weight loss. Obesity Research 12:320-329 (2004)
¹⁴ Micco N, Gold B, Buzzell P, Leonard H, Pintauro S, Harvey-Berino J. Minimal in-person support as an adjunct to internet obesity treatment. Annals of Behavioral Medicine 2007;33(1):49-56.
¹⁵ Tate DF, Jackvony EH, Wing RR. Effects of Internet behavioral counseling on weight loss in adults at risk for type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial. Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289(14):1833-6.
¹⁶US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Adult Participation in Recommended Levels of Physical Activity --- United States, 2001 and 2003. MMWR Weekly. 2005;54(47);1208-1212.
¹⁷Position of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. 2007. Available http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Media&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7769.