The increase in obesity

Barbara Moore, PhD President of Shape Up America!, discusses the increased obesity levels in America and the likelihood that an obese child will remain obese into adulthood
The Increase In Obesity Levels In America
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The increase in obesity

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Obesity in adults is defined as the BMI of 30 or above which corresponds roughly to 30 pounds or more over ideal weight. The prevalence of obesity in America in adults is 1 out of every 3 people and in the case of overweight, of course it’s less extreme, the overweight is less, but the problem is overweight adults tend to become obese eventually so they too are at risk for obesity. In the case of children, obesity is much more complex to define, but we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the problems of obesity among children since the 1980s’, 1990s’, there has been a tripling of the rates of obesity in children and these kids are subjected to high risk of type II diabetes, of heart disease, hypertension, all of the diseases we associate with obesity in adults are now afflicting children. It’s a serious problem both from our social stand point to as well as a health stand point for our children. If a child remains obese into their teenage years, their chances of remaining obese into adulthood is 85%, now what that means is that if you have 100 of these teenage children, 85 of them will remain obese into adulthood.

Barbara Moore, PhD President of Shape Up America!, discusses the increased obesity levels in America and the likelihood that an obese child will remain obese into adulthood

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Barbara J. Moore, PhD

President, Shape Up America!

Barbara J. Moore, PhD is president and CEO of Shape Up America!, a nonprofit organization founded in 1994 by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop. The mission of SUA is to raise awareness of obesity as a health issue through its award-winning website, Shapeup.org  and other communication channels.  Considered a leading authority on obesity in the United States, Dr. Moore served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children in Youth, which produced the landmark 2005 report Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Moore received her PhD in nutritional science from Columbia University. Her postdoctoral training in nutrition and physiology was at the University of California at Davis. She held an academic position at Rutgers University and also served in industry as General Manager of Program Development at Weight Watchers International.  She held several federal government positions at the White House and the National Institutes of Health before joining Shape Up America! in 1995. She holds a BA from Skidmore College and an MS in nutrition from Columbia University’s Institute of Human Nutrition. 

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Transcription: 
Obesity in adults is defined as the BMI of 30 or above which corresponds roughly to 30 pounds or more over ideal weight. The prevalence of obesity in America in adults is 1 out of every 3 people and in the case of overweight, of course it’s less extreme, the overweight is less, but the problem is overweight adults tend to become obese eventually so they too are at risk for obesity. In the case of children, obesity is much more complex to define, but we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the problems of obesity among children since the 1980s’, 1990s’, there has been a tripling of the rates of obesity in children and these kids are subjected to high risk of type II diabetes, of heart disease, hypertension, all of the diseases we associate with obesity in adults are now afflicting children. It’s a serious problem both from our social stand point to as well as a health stand point for our children. If a child remains obese into their teenage years, their chances of remaining obese into adulthood is 85%, now what that means is that if you have 100 of these teenage children, 85 of them will remain obese into adulthood.