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OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY
Overweight and obesity are linked to chronic conditions
such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and
stroke.
An expert panel convened by the National Institutes of
Health used height and weight measurements to define overweight
as a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or greater and obesity
as a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater. Using these definitions,
the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey
(NHANES) found that 61.9 percent of women were overweight,
including the 33.4 percent who were obese. Males were consistently
more likely to be overweight than females, while females
were more likely to be obese. NHANES found that 61.9 percent
of women were overweight, including the 33.4 percent who
were obese. Males were consistently more likely to be overweight
than females, while females were more likely to be obese.
The likelihood of being overweight increased with age,
the highest percentage among women aged 40-59 (37.8 percent),
followed by women 60 years and older (35.0 percent).
The
1999-2000 NHANES showed the highest prevalence of overweight
and obesity in non-Hispanic Black women (77.3 percent
overweight, including 49.7 percent obese), followed by
Mexican-American
women (71.9 percent overweight, including 39.7 percent
obese).
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