Facts and Figures

To view statistics on obesity, its costs, and effects on the U.S. population,
please click here.

• In the United States, it is estimated that 93 million Americans are obese.

• Obese individuals are at a higher risk for impaired mobility and experience a negative social stigma commonly associated with obesity.

• Socioeconomic status plays a significant role in obesity. Low-income minority populations tend to experience obesity at higher rate and are more likely to be overweight.

• In 2001, the states with the top five percentages for obesity were Mississippi, West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana.

• Almost 112,000 annual deaths are attributable to obesity.

• In the United States, 40 percent of adults do not participate in any leisure-time physical activity.

• For more information on obesity, please visit the Obesity section of the OAC Web site.

• Being overweight, obese or morbidly obese significantly increases the risk of developing many other diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis and much more.

• Morbid obesity is characterized by an individual weighing more than 100 pounds over their ideal body weight, or having a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher.

• Behavior, genetics and environment are all contributing factors of morbid obesity.

• In 2002, 25 percent of the morbidly obese were being treated for six or more co-morbid conditions.

• Click here to calculate your BMI.

• For more information on morbid obesity, please visit the Morbid Obesity section of the OAC Web site.

• More than 9 million adolescents (children and teens 6 to 19 years old) are considered overweight.

• Children who are considered obese are 70 percent more likely to continue being obese into adulthood.

• Children who are obese at a young age are predisposed to obesity and morbid obesity in adulthood.

• Environmental factors, such as a lack of physical activity and technological advances have led to a more sedentary lifestyle.

• Today, obese children are much more likely to develop type 2 diabetes more than ever.

• African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians have been experiencing the highest rates of increase in childhood obesity. On average, 25 percent of children in these ethnic groups are obese.

• The most occurring sign of discrimination among obese children is social and societal acceptance. This negative discrimination can lead to poor self-esteem and depression.

• More than 40 percent of children watch 2 or more hours of television each day.

• For more information on childhood obesity, please visit the Childhood Obesity section of the OAC Web site.

• The cost of obesity in the United States in 2000 was more than $117 billion.

• In 2002, medical costs attributed to overweight and obesity reached an incredible $92.6 billion.

• Many insurance companies do not cover clinical or non-clinical weight-loss programs.

• Treating an obese individual cost $1,244 more in 2002 than treating a healthy-weight person did.

• In 2003, Americans spent about $75 billion in weight-related medical bills.

• For more information on how to advocate, please visit the Advocacy section of the OAC Web site.