title: Morbid obesity rates continue to rise rapidly in the United States.
abstract: Clinically severe or morbid obesity (body mass index (BMI) >40 or 50 kg m(-2)) entails far more serious health consequences than moderate obesity for patients, and creates additional challenges for providers. The paper provides time trends for extreme weight categories (BMI >40 and >50 kg m(-2)) until 2010, using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Between 2000 and 2010, the prevalence of a BMI >40 kg m(-2) (type III obesity), calculated from self-reported height and weight, increased by 70%, whereas the prevalence of BMI >50 kg m(-2) increased even faster. Although the BMI rates at every point in time are higher among Hispanics and Blacks, there were no significant differences in trends between them and non-Hispanic Whites. The growth rate appears to have slowed down since 2005. Adjusting for self-report biases, we estimate that in 2010 15.5 million adult Americans or 6.6% of the population had an actual BMI >40 kg m(-2). The prevalence of clinically severe obesity continues to be increasing, although less rapidly in more recent years than prior to 2005.
authors.affiliation: RAND Health, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401, USA. sturm@rand.org
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sturm
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hattori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D040343:Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*