Every January, many Americans resolve to diet and exercise.  Though few sustain these good intentions, our determination does seem to be making a difference. 

A recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association delivered some rare good news—the obesity rate in the United States, which had been rising for twenty-five years, held steady from 2000 to 2008. 

This plateau is encouraging, but U.S. obesity rates are still higher than any other nation.  Some 67.2 percent of American adults qualify as obese.  Children between the ages of 2 and 19, a group that had recorded the steepest increase in obesity, held steady at a rate of 16.9 percent. 

Sadly, West Virginia has the third highest percentage of obese adults in the U.S. in 2009 at 31.1 percent, and the eighth highest percentage of overweight children at 35.5 percent.  So, we must take this new report as incentive to actually lower the obesity rate.

On a personal and societal level, obesity remains a concern.  It has overtaken smoking as the greatest overall health threat facing the country.  

Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint disease, sleep apnea, asthma, certain types of cancer, and type-2 diabetes.  

Studies have shown that obese individuals may face social and employment discrimination and lower average wages. 

Obese individuals and their families must deal with the pain, suffering, and medical costs of obesity related health conditions, and the possibility of dying or losing a loved one to death at a younger age.  Employers must deal with increased absenteeism and lower productivity due to employees’ ill health. 

Health insurers also face increased expenditures due to obesity complications.  A 2004 study cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated adult obesity expenditures by state, with West Virginia’s costs estimated at $588 million.  

With approximately half of all obesity related health care paid by Medicaid and Medicare, all taxpayers help to shoulder these costs.

Americans have done well to stem the rising tide of obesity in the United States.  I have long supported the Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity program at the CDC to provide funding for state and community programs to help prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases.

For our health as well as our economic well-being, we need to further reduce the numbers on the scale.