Obesity

By 2000, 30.5 percent of American adults were obese, meaning they had a body mass index of 30 or higher. That rate has increased since then, helping to fuel related health issues like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers – all of which are among the leading causes of death in the Pennsylvania.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national obesity rate reached 42.4 percent in 2017-2018 – surpassing 40 percent for the first time.

While adults across age groups saw similar obesity rates in 2017-2018, there were disparities by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.  At 49.6 percent, the obesity rate was highest among Black adults, though it was also above 40 percent for Hispanics and non-Hispanic white adults. The obesity rate was lowest among Asians, at 17.4 percent.

Chilhood Obesity

Pennsylvania has the nation’s ninth-highest childhood obesity rate for children ages 10 to 17, according to a nationwide report by the State of Childhood Obesity.

While overall obesity rates for these adolescents have held steady in recent years after decades of increases, “childhood obesity rates remain stubbornly and historically high, putting millions of young people at greater risk for serious health conditions,” according to the study.

Those health problems include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and certain types of cancer.

The impacts of obesity fall disproportionately on children of color and those living in poverty. The obesity rates for Black children and Hispanic children ages 10 to 17 were 22.2 percent and 19 percent, respectively. For white youngsters of the same age, it was 11.8 percent. The rate was 7.3 percent for Asian youth.

In households living below the federal poverty level, the childhood obesity rate was nearly 22 percent; families with incomes at least 400 percent above the poverty level have a rate of 9.4 percent. Unjust inequities persist throughout Pennsylvania.

Policy Priorities

• Pennsylvania should enact policies and use public dollars to promote food choices that are healthy and that reduce the state’s worsening obesity epidemic.

• Pennsylvania and the federal government should enact policies that promote active transportation, sidewalks, public parks and recreation centers, and other proven policies and programs that promote active living.