 | Former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher calls obesity “this century’s pneumonia; this century’s TB; this century’s typhoid.”
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| The CDC and World Health Organization label obesity an “epidemic.” Research shows it’s worsening.
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| Obesity causes an estimated 300,000 premature deaths each year. It now leads tobacco as the nation’s #1 cause of preventable death.
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| In the U.S., 64.5% of Americans (almost two-thirds) are overweight or obese, and the number is growing.
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| 30.5% of Americans are obese (30 or more pounds over healthy weight).
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| The number of people with extreme obesity (BMI of 40 or more) tripled from 1992 to 2002.
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| Because our environment is worsening, the numbers are expected to go higher. |
