Obesity greater health risk than smoking

Folks, here are two reports that I found fascinating. Enjoy.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Obese adults have more chronic health problems than smokers, heavy drinkers or the poor, according to a study released Wednesday.

The report by the RAND institute in Santa Monica, California, found that obese people have on average nearly twice the chronic health troubles of people of normal weight.

"We didn't expect this big difference," said Roland Sturm, a RAND economist and lead author of the survey, which was published in the latest edition of the British journal Public Health.

The study also found that smoking harms the health of women more than men, with female smokers having about 40 percent more chronic health problems than nonsmokers. The figure was 30 percent for men.

Sturm said the survey, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, demonstrates that public health officials should intensify their fight against obesity to levels that at least match the public health campaign against smoking.

The study found that more people are overweight or obese than are those collectively who smoke, drink heavily and live below the federal poverty line.

The telephone survey, which was conducted in 1998, asked 9,585 adults about their weight, height, smoking and drinking habits, income and quality of life. They also were asked if they had any of 17 chronic health problems, including asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart problems.

Obesity was determined by finding a respondent's body mass index, a figure derived by multiplying a person's weight in pounds by 703 and dividing that result by height in inches squared.

People of normal weight have a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9; those considered overweight score between 25 and 29.9; obese people are between 30 and 34.9 and very obese people are over 35.

The survey found that 59 percent of Americans are at least overweight -- a figure that is in line with other recent studies.

The study found that people of normal weight had an average of 1.1 chronic conditions. Overweight people had an average of an additional 0.2 chronic conditions, obese people had an additional 0.6 chronic conditions and the very obese had 0.9 more conditions.

The study showed the obese tend to have slightly more health problems than people living in poverty and far more than daily smokers or heavy drinkers.

JOIN THE CRAZE: AMERICAN'S EMBRACE PHYSICAL FITNESS

New Report: Trends in U.S. Physical Fitness Behavior

NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - August 16, 2002 - There's an ongoing revolution in the U.S. - and it's all about fitness. For the last 30 years, the American lifestyle and culture has been affected by this growing interest in 'working out.' The fact that 20% of the U.S. population (51 million) engages in some form of regular physical fitness activity is proof-positive of this trend. An in-depth look into this physical fitness boom can be found in Trends in U.S. Physical Fitness Behavior - produced by American Sports Data Inc. This report can be purchased through SGMA International online at http://www.sgma.com/press/2002/press1029432004-20766.html

Some other key findings from the study include:

• In 2001, Americans averaged 113 days of aggregate exercise for every man, woman and child over the age of six.
• Strength-training is among the fastest growing fitness activities, with nearly 20 million frequent participants (participated at least 100+ days a year), up 53% over the past ten years.
• The greatest beneficiaries of the fitness movement have been health clubs, which boast a 63% increase in membership from 1990-2001, and a corresponding jump of 104% in the numbers of frequent participants who worked out at a club at least 100+ times in a year.
• Hand weights are a popular trend in physical fitness, with 27.1 million people using this form of exercise in 2001, an increase of 16% from 1998.
• From 1987 - 2001, the number of Americans who exercised 100+ days a year on cardio equipment (i.e. treadmills, stationary bikes, stair-climbers, rowers, etc.) increased 104%, from nine million to over 18 million.

Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D.