For the first time in 30 years, obesity has not increased in the United States. Mobilization campaigns are starting to bear fruit in a country where 1 in 4 adults suffers from overweight.
Even a few years ago, the life expectancy of Americans had declined due to the “epidemic” of obesity. This important marker of the state of health of the population had seized the conscience and challenged the political class, all sides confused. Across the country, at the initiative of mayors, schools or, more recently Michele Obama, prevention and education programs have multiplied to combat this health disaster.
And the first results of this mobilization are being felt. For the first time in 30 years, the proportion of obese people in the adult population finally remained stable in the United States in 2012. According to the study funded by the NGO Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, only Arkansas “got fat” with just over 34.5% obese. The 49 others managed to “keep the line”. 13 states are over 30% obese adults, led by Louisiana (34.7%) and Mississippi (34.6%) and Arkansas. The most spared are Colorado (20.5%), the District of Columbia (21.9%) and Massachusetts with 22.9%. Of the 50 states, 41 are at least 25% obese.
Another encouraging sign revealed, this time by the federal centers for disease control and prevention, the obesity of very young children from very modest families was for the first time in slight decline.
These good trends do not mean that the battle is won. . “While the stagnant rate of overweight adults may appear to be the first fruit of prevention campaigns, the rates remain extremely high,” said Jeffrey Levi, director of Trust for America’s Health.
In addition, obesity remains a discriminating factor. It is the poorest states and people with low incomes who remain the first victims of this scourge.
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