Who Is at Risk for Becoming Obese?
The number of people who are obese is rising. About 1.2 billion people in the world are overweight and at least 300 million of them are obese, even though obesity is one of the 10 most preventable health risks, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, more than 97 million adults — that’s more than half — are overweight and almost 1 in 5 adults is obese. Among teenagers and kids 6 years and older, more than 15% are overweight — that’s more than three times the number of young people who were overweight in the 1970s. At least 300,000 deaths every year in the United States can be linked to obesity. In the United States, women are slightly more at risk for becoming obese than men. Race and ethnicity also can be factors — obesity is more common among Mexican-Americans and African-Americans.
