 |
|
 Comorbidity Costs Are Driven Up by Increasing Prevalence Despite research efforts to understand the causes of obesity and public education programs stressing the benefits of physical activity and healthful eating habits, the prevalence of obesity — along with its attendant comorbidities and costs — is rapidly escalating. Comorbidities Are Costly: Direct Costs and Indirect Costs During the two decades between 1960 and 1980, the prevalence of obesity in American adults (BMI of 27.3 or greater for women, BMI of 27.8 or greater for men) increased by only about 1%. But in the years between 1976 and 1994, the mean weight climbed 8 lbs and the prevalence of obesity jumped an additional 10%. That's a remarkable 37% increase in obesity prevalence, causing the proportion of obese adults to climb from one quarter to over one third of the population.35,63 Obesity: A Dramatic Rise in Prevalence 
Adapted from Kuczmarski, et al. 35 and MMWR63
| |||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
