Lifetime Health and Economic Consequences of Obesity

Abstract

DURING the past 2 decades, the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically among US adults. Between 1976 and 1980, 24.1% and 26.5% of men and women, respectively, were reported to be overweight; between 1988 and 1991, these figures were estimated to have increased to 31.7% and 34.9%, respectively.¹ The potential health implications of these trends are ominous, as results of several large-scale epidemiological cohort studies² have established that obesity is a major risk factor for several chronic disease conditions, including coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, selected cancers, and musculoskeletal disorders, as well as all-cause mortality.