Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese. If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will face obesity-related chronic health problems like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, certain types of cancer, and asthma.
Obesity by the Numbers:
- $147 billion: annual medical cost of obesity because of related chronic diseases
- $1,429: obese adults spend more on medical costs per year
- 15 minutes of biking, twice a day = 10 pounds of fat burned per year
- 2 minutes of stair use per day can stop the average American weight gain
- Annual advertising budgets:
- Tobacco: $13 billion
- Food industry: $11 billion
- “Communities Putting Prevention to Work” anti-obesity grants: $0.48 billion
- 73% of Americans believe fighting childhood obesity is a worthwhile investment
57% of Americans believe the government should play an important role in addressing obesity
(source: PEW Foundation)