Utah Obesity

Chances are you know someone who is at an unhealthy weight, since over 60% of adult Utahns are either overweight or obese. Obesity can affect people of any gender, age, income, and racial/ethnic groups. The number of Utahns that are obese is at a record high. Over 1,156,000 Utah adults are overweight and over 461,000 are obese.

The facts:

• More than half of Utah adults are overweight or obese (60.1%, Utah BRFSS 2008).
• Over one in three of those Utah adults at an unhealthy weight are obese (24.0% Utah BRFSS 2008).
• Utah is only doing slightly better than the US where 63.1% of adults are overweight or obese and 26.6% are obese (US BRFSS 2008).
• The percentage of obese adults in Utah has more than doubled (a 128% increase) since 1989.
• 52.4% of Utah women 52.4% are overweight or obese compared to 67% of men.
• In 2005, 35% of Utah women who delivered a baby were overweight or obese prior to becoming pregnant. This is a 21% increase since 1996.

 Obesity is a Risky Business

New data show higher BMI ups risk for chronic diseases“We had known that a person at higher weight was at risk of having other co-morbid conditions”, said Michael Friedrichs, UDOH Epidemiology Manager, “but we were surprised at the significance of the findings. For example, a person classified as obese class III (BMI>40) is 19 times more likely to have diabetes and 11 times more likely to have high blood pressure than a person with ideal an ideal BMI.”

Obese adults were also more likely to have high cholesterol, asthma, and arthritis and their risk increased with each class of obesity. Rates of major depression were higher for obese adults as well.

The report can be found at: http://health.utah.gov/opha/publications/hsu/10May_Obesity.pdf.

If you are significantly overweight and have not been able to loose it by any other means, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED LAP-BAND?

Call Dr. Hansen today at 801-787-4379 to schedule a consultation.