A large and growing share of Americans are obese. Health experts are calling it an epidemic, and costs to the nation’s medical system are huge. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma, joint problems, some cancers, and other ailments.
The chart below shows the share of U.S. adults who are obese has risen from 15 percent in late 1970s to 42 percent today. The share of children who are obese has risen from six percent in the late 1970s to 20 percent today.
Obesity for adults means a BMI of 30 or more. So an average-height man of 5’ 9” is obese if he weighs more than 203 pounds. Obesity is a higher weight category than overweight, which is BMI 25 to 30.
The rise in obesity may be viewed as resulting from individual choices, but it also raises many public policy issues. One of my concerns is: Are some government programs feeding the problem and making it worse?
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