Obesity is common, serious and costly. More than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who have obesity were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (48.1%) followed by Hispanics (42.5%), non-Hispanic whites (34.5%), and non-Hispanic Asians (11.7%). Obesity is higher among middle age adults age 40-59 years (40.2%) and older adults age 60 and over (37.0%) than among younger adults age 20–39 (32.3%).
besity rate among adults by countries :
USA: 38.2%
Mexico: 32.4%
UK: 26.9%
South Africa: 26.5%
Canada: 25.8%
Germany: 23.6%
Turkey: 22.3%
Brazil: 20.8%
Russia: 19.6%
Spain: 16.7%
France: 15.3%
Austria: 14.7%
Norway: 12.0%
South Korea: 5.3%
India: 5.0%
Japan: 3.7%
Source : OECD
