The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that forty five states of the US have not been pushing hard to reduce obesity to a set target of 15 percent of the population by 2010. The only states where obesity levels were low among population included Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The federal scientists in the US established a set of health goals, termed as Healthy People 2010 in January 2000. It pledged for obesity to be reduced to 15 percent of adults in the US by 2010.
In 28 states of the US, Obesity levels among 18 years or older adults were in the range 25-29 percent. Some of these states included New York, Texas, and Illinois. Some of the states where obesity was higher than 30 percent included Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
In 2007, about 54 million people were reported as obese in the US. It is higher by about 1.7 percent than obesity levels two years back. The growing trends of obesity in the US shows that the set target of reducing its levels may not be achieved by 2010. This will expose large section of population in the US to many associated diseases of obesity.
Deborah Galuska of the CDC’s division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity says, “It’s going to certainly be a struggle to get down to 15 percent, particularly for the country as a whole.”
What is obesity?
Excess body fats make an adult either overweight or obese. The levels of obesity among adults are calculated with the help of a BMI (body mass index). It considers two parameters that include weight in kilograms and height in meters square for measuring obesity among adults.
BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms of an adult with height in meters squares. If the BMI is within the range 25-29.5, then an adult is considered as overweight. When BMI is 30 or more, then an adult is considered as obese.
Medical drugs for obesity treatment
Obesity can give rise to many serious associated diseases. So, an adult should treat this condition by following a healthy lifestyle. There are some effective prescription drugs that have been approved for the treatment of obesity. These drugs include Acomplia, Xencial, and Reductil. These drugs have been designed for treating a specific condition. So it may be possible that some people may feel allergic to their ingredients. An adult who struggles with obesity problem should perform a consultation with a doctor who can prescribe any of these drugs after a thorough medical check-up.
