Health of more than half of US adults affected by obesity
Considering weight across the life course, the prevalence of obesity among adults in the US rises considerably, suggesting that the effects on population health may be even more pervasive than previously understood, according to a new study led by a Boston university School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher. Writing in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine , Andrew Stokes, assistant professor of global health at BUSPH, and colleagues said their findings "highlight the importance" of considering the previously obese subpopulation when monitoring the obesity epidemic. "The results suggest that a much larger fraction of the population is affected by obesity than is reflected by statistics on current weight status alone," the researchers wrote. The researchers expanded the scope of their study to include all US adults who were ever obese as well as the currently obese. They found that 50.8 percent of American men and 51.6 percent of American women ha...