Fifty-eight million American adults ages 20 through 74 are overweight, and the number of overweight Americans increased from 25 to 33 percent between 1980 and 1991. One in five children are at risk of being overweight. Ten percent of children are overweight or obese. The number of overweight children has doubled over the past 15 years, and 70 percent of overweight children aged 10 to 13 will become overweight or obese adults. Recent studies indicate that this trend is associated with low levels of physical activity rather than increased food consumption.
Obesity is linked to an increased incidence of chronic disease.
Obesity increases the risk factor for diseases such as coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Over 68 billion dollars are spent each year on direct health care costs related to obesity, which represents 6 percent of the nation's health care expenditures in 1999. Almost 90 percent of Americans need to improve their diets. The Healthy Eating Index shows that 88 percent of Americans have diets that are poor or need improvement. Only 26 percent of people meet the daily dietary recommendation for dairy products, and less than 20 percent meet the daily recommendation for fruits.