Obesity Among U.S. Adults Continues to Rise; Obesity Prevalence 25 Percent or Higher in 32 States

The proportion of U.S. adults who are obese increased to 26.1 percent in 2008, compared to 25.6 percent in 2007. The data come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System [BRFSS], a state-based phone survey that collects health information from adults aged 18 and over.

In six states -- Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia -- adult obesity prevalence was 30 percent or more. Thirty-two states, including those six, had obesity prevalence of 25 percent or more. Only one state, Colorado, had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent. But no state showed a significant decrease in obesity prevalence from 2007 to 2008.

More than 400,000 U.S. adults were surveyed in the 2008 BRFSS, which is the world’s largest telephone health survey. To assess obesity prevalence, survey respondents are asked to provide their height and weight, which is used to calculate their body mass index [BMI]. A person is considered obese if they have a BMI of 30 or above.

"Obesity is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes," said Dr. William Dietz [pictured], director, CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. "As obesity increases among all age groups, we are seeing chronic diseases in much younger adults, compared to a few decades ago. For example, we now see young adults who suffer from heart disease risk factors and other conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, that were unheard of in the past."

The 2008 BRFSS obesity data indicate that none of the 50 states, nor the District of Columbia, has achieved the Healthy People 2010 goal of reducing obesity prevalence to 15 percent or less.

"The latest BRFSS survey data show that the obesity problem in this country is getting worse," said Liping Pan, CDC epidemiologist and lead author of the 2008 BRFSS obesity map analysis. "If this trend continues, we will likely see increases in health care costs for obesity-related diseases."

For more information on obesity trends, including an animated map, visit www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html.

SOURCES: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Best-Selling Expert: The Mass Confusion That Dominates in Fat Loss and Fitness Today

Editor's note: Periodically, ProsperNOW opens the editorial floor to folks who bring a unique perspective to creating lasting prosperity in all its myriad forms.

Today, we're featuring Rob Poulos [pictured], a celebrated fitness author, fat loss expert, and the founder and CEO of Zero to Hero Fitness. Rob created the world's most efficient method for fast and permanent fat loss with his best-selling "Fat Burning Furnace" system, designed to help those looking to put an end to restrictive fad diets, long and boring cardio workouts, and the need for super-human willpower, for good.

By Rob Poulos
Fat Loss & Fitness Expert
Creator of "Fat Burning Furnace"

People are confused more than ever about how to burn fat. They are confused about the best way to go about achieving the body they want. They are confused about what works and what doesn’t, and the reasons why.

There are countless individuals slaving away in gyms and fitness centers around the country right now. They are working tirelessly, almost every day, on the treadmill, stair-climber, elliptical, etc., to burn those calories and fat. They also might be lifting weights several times a week for hours at a time to build some strength and muscle. They might even join a few aerobics or spinning classes, too.

They are probably also trying one of the latest diet strategies that promises miracle fat burning and weight loss. They could also be spending a lot of money on the latest and greatest dietary supplements that could be that "miracle pill" that will aid in weight loss.

They are also carefully watching the scale as their main judge of fat loss progress. If it goes up a pound or two, they may behave rashly, and maybe even change up their entire workout or diet program!

And, of course, there are others are doing variations on that same theme. After all, this is the kind of stuff that many of the popular fitness and diet gurus typically recommend to burn fat.

But, with so many different strategies and plans being pushed as the be-all and end-all, what happens is we tend to go overboard. And when that happens, we lose sight of what really matters in achieving lifelong fat burning, fitness and health: The principles that many people don’t know about, most people have forgotten, and only a select few put to use to achieve lifelong health and fitness. These are the same principles I used to drop over 40 pounds of unwanted body fat, keep it off, and revitalize my life!

With any exercise or nutrition program, you’ll probably lose some fat initially. But, far too often, the progress doesn’t continue or doesn’t come as fast as the person would like because they're using a temporary mindset. They're only focused on the short term and one specific goal. So, they end up switching to something else, and the cycle continues until they’ve become consumed by this cycle of confusion.

I believe that this is one of the biggest -- if not the #1 reason -- for the lack of fat loss and fitness progress that is being experienced by the masses of exercisers and dieters in the world. They are jumping from one fad diet or exercise routine to another, while losing sight of what’s really important, and what really works. Simply put, they are exercising far too much, not nearly intensely enough, and trying to adhere to unrealistic diet recommendations.

If, instead, they focused on a long-term plan -- a lifestyle, as it’s often called -- and didn’t worry about "losing 10 pounds by summer," they would find it far easier to do the right things most of the time. And those right things include brief, progressive, and intense resistance training, eating a diet full of nutrient-rich foods, drinking tons of water, and getting plenty of quality sleep and rest.

The students of my Fat Burning Furnace method understand this and are reaping the lifelong health and fitness rewards because of it. Are you?
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